Girl and The Rock Show
by HanyouAlanna
Summary: When Kikyo drops out of the Tamas and Kagome takes her place, all hell breaks loose. Now she's living with a pervert, a jerk, and a new best friend. What's a girl to do? Fall in love with the most unlikely suspect of course!
1. Getting there is half the fun

"She quit." InuYasha said as he stalked wearily into the large livingroom. He held a small paper in his hand, which he promptly thrust under a young woman's nose. Her name was Sango and was one of what was once four band members. A dark haired boy named Miroku sidled over to see what all the fuss was about. Kikyo, their second guitarist, had finally quit the group after breaking up with InuYasha, the lead singer and guitarist.

"My god..." Sango breathed as she read the furiously scribbled note.

"What the hell are we gonna do know, huh? We're short one guitarist less than a month before the tour starts. Do open auditions?" InuYasha said sarcastically as he ran clawed hands through his long white hair. Miroku merely sighed and flopped down onto the large couch.

"You know, you don't have a bad idea there, InuYasha." Sango grinned, making the taller boy worry. He was being sarcastic and hadn't meant what he said.

"Aw, shit." he said after seeing the gleam in her eyes. It would be a long day tomorrow if she had her way.

……………………………………..

Kagome Higurashi sat lazily in front of the tv, still in her pajamas. She quietly munched her breakfast, which consisted of a leftover slcie of pizza that she had heated up in the microwave. She was all alone in the shrine house since her mother had left to take her granpa to visit an old friend that was in the hospital and her brother Souta had spent the night at a friend's house. He still hadn't come home; the other boy probably had some new video game they were playing. Suddenly a reporter interrupted the usual stream of morning rock videos with some kind of news.

"Hello and I'm Akiko here with breaking music news. Kikyo, second guitarist has quit the Tamas. After a long breakup with boyfriend and lead singer and guitarist, InuYasha, the girl has decided to leave the group forever. No one is clear on why the breakup occurred as neither party has agreed to comment on the situation. Today the Tamas will be holding open try outs at the Tokyo Suites hotel. Anyone with guitar experience can try out. Now back to your regular programming."

Kagome gaped openly at the screen. She had just finished her third year of high school and still didn't know what she wanted to do with her life once she graduated. Her mother said being a musician would probably never pan out and she didn't want her daughter flipping burgers at WacDonalds while she waited to be 'discovered'. Maybe this was her big break! She loved the way the Tamas played and had learned a lot of their music. Kagome shot out of her seat on the couch and up to her room.

After some debate, she decided on an outfit. She had put on a red plaid skirt with fish net hose and black boots. For a top she had pulled out a red t-shirt with cap sleeves in a matching plaid. Near the hem there was an inscription that read 'Make a break for Freedom. A thin silver chain ran across her chest, connecting to the sides of the neck. She pulled her hair up into spiky buns on each side of her head and then looked in the mirror, satisfied with her slightly punky image. She wore no makeup as usual, everyone called her a natural beauty.

Kagome picked her guitar and put it into its black cloth case. The guitar was her baby; she had spent months working up the money to afford it. The base was a red that matched her shirt perfectly, the pick guard a shining black. Each knob was a matching black. She hefted her case and headed down the seemingly endless steps to the street after dashing off a short note to explain where she had gone. Kagome jumped into her car, placing her instrument in the back seat, and sped off to the audtions.

……………………………………..

InuYasha lept over the side of his silver convertible and thrust the key into the ignition. He sped off down the road, easily topping the speed limit by thirty miles. He was late getting up for the auditions and was afraid that there would be hell to pay. He slept late by nature, they knew that, and still no one had chosen to wake him up or even check to see if he had risen. His white hair blew in the wind as he flew down the streets of Tokyo, getting tangled easily. He'd look like a train wreck by the time he arrived.

'Damn..' he thought as he approached the light, which had just turned red. 'Oh well...' he ran the light carelessy and hoped there weren't any police around to see him.

……………………………………..

A silver convertible blew through the red light, barely missing Kagome. She blazed with fury at the driver of the offending car. She took off, seeing as she'd had the right away all along.

"Dumb fuck!" She yelled and blew her horn. A finger of acknowledgment came as the only reply. "People are so rude!" She said, temporarily forgetting her own use of language. She saw the hotel in front of her and pulled into the already jammed parking lot. Kagome pulled out her guitar and placed the case's strap over her head to rest comfortably across her chest. Guitar on her back, she made her way through the lot and to the great glass doors.

People were jampacked into the lobby of the hotel, guitars with each one. Some looked like regular people, others leaned more to the gothic and visual kei style of the fashion spectrum. Some were as young as thirteen or fourteen, others as old as thirty or forty. Kagome took a place at the end of the line that stretched seemingly infinitely down the hall to the conference rooms. She wouldn't have beed surprised if it went up the stairs to the roof!

'Hope someone will bring around snacks or at least drinks. That pizza wasn't really filing and I think we all might be here for a few hours.' she thought to herself as she peered around the room. Some musicians had gotten out their instruments and were tuning them already, even practicing some songs. A lot of it was odd squeaking and banging, but some people were really good. She decided to follow suit and get ready. After all, it's always good to be prepared, wasn't it?

She pulled out her guitar and put on the black leather strap. Kagome proceeded to tune her instrument, a difficult task considering that everyone else in the room was playing different tunes at the same time.

"I'll never get this done right at this rate.." She sighed in frustration. The boy in front of her turned around with a smile.

"Hi! Having a hard time?" He asked and revealed a brilliant smile.

"Just a little." Kagome answered shortly. He looked awfully familiar and a little too preppy to be auditioning for the Tamas.

"I'm Hojo! Would you like to borrow my tuner?" Hojo pulled a little black rectangle out his pocket and handed it to Kagome. She accepted it gratefully, immediately plugging it into her cord. After a few short minutes she was tuned up and ready to go.

"Thanks Hojo. Good luck!" She said and gave him back the device. He chewed his lip nervously, as if considering whether or not to say something.

"Are you okay?" no reply. 'Man, this guy's just a little bit weird...' Kagome thought and turned back to her guitar, ready to practice some.

"What are you playing?" He asked, breaking her concentration. She grimaced and answered as quickly as possible, wanting to get back to work. Unfortunately, Hojo had other plans. He rambled on annoyingly, from asking questions to talking about his life.

'Just leave me alone! Is this a face that cares?' Kagome thought ruthlessly. She was trying to concentrate, and this guy wasn't helping. He never shut up! "Here, you can go ahead of me!" she said sweetly to the woman behind her.

"Oh no, I couldn't!" The black haired girl replied.

"Sure you can!" Kagome said, trying to retain her plastered on smile. She grabbed the woman by the shoulders and forced her ahead. 'Maybe that'll stop him!'

"Why don't you go ahead of me too. We were just talking." She heard Hojo say right, before showing up in front of her once more. He began to rant again when Kagome interrupted.

"I'm kinda trying to concentrate. Could not ask so many questions?" There. She had been kind, yet firm.

"Okay! Sure! All you had to do was speak up!"

"Thanks! Now where was I..." Kagome picked her little rift back up again before noticing a certain pair of eyes were staring at her, practically boring holes into her flesh. Could this boy be any more annoying? Now he was staring! That was the final straw, she had to do something, lest she go insane. She had seen this kind of behavior before in shy guys...maybe she could fix it.

"Is there something you want to ask me?" she looked up at him, teeth on edge.

"Well...would care to go out with me?" Hojo had a white knuckle grip on the strap to his guitar case. Kagome had seen it coming. Now for the gentle let down.

"I'm sorry, Hojo, I'll have to say no."

"Oh. You have a boyfriend already?" He asked, disappointed. Kagome had trouble now. What did she say to that?

"Ummm..."


	2. Auditions

You guys rock! I came home today and found five reviews in my inbox and I cried! That's how happy I was! As promised, five reviews gets you a new chapter! Let the madness begin! Oh, before I begin, special thanks to foxfire as that was my first review on this fic! Have an Inuyasha plushie as thanks!

~_~

InuYasha stalked through the hotel doors and began the trek to the conference room when he heard something as he walked by.

"Oh. You have a boyfriend already?" A boy was asking. The girl in question didn't know what to say, that he could clearly tell. Obviously this guy was being a dumbass. InuYasha inwardly sighed. 'I guess I'll make this my one good deed for the week.' he thought and walked up to the boy. Luckily he had dressed in a long black coat, hat and sunglasses or else he would have been bombarded with screaming girls. His white hair was pulled up under a black bandana, with two thick locks hanging out the front. His shirt was slightly tight, showing hints of muscle underneath. InuYasha walked up next to the girl and stood as tall as possible while looking down his nose at the boy.

"Yeah, and I really don't like you messing with my girl, so leave her the fuck alone." He said as fiercely as he could without making the poor guy die of nerves. He then looked down at the shocked girl and squeezed her shoulder. "Don't let him bother you anymore. I have to go." He then swept off down the hall, smirking at the guy that he had just told off. Maybe today wouldn't be so awful.

~_~

'Whoa...I could have sworn that guy was the lead singer....no, be couldn't have been. He would have been here earlier to get the auditions.' Kagome shrugged off the deed, thinking it was just another wannabe. Some people went to weird lengths to look like a favorite star. Then again he was pretty handsome. She hadn't been able to see much of his face but she could tell he had muscles under his tight shirt and his white hair was gorgeous. 'Must stop thinking about hot guy I don't even know!' Kagome mentally screamed at herself and tried to practice more, but the notes wouldn't come. 'I give up. Maybe just short break...he didn't even introduce himself. Maybe I'll see him again later.' she finally gave into her thoughts now that Hojo wasn't being such a pain in the ass. He hadn't spoken since he was told off. Kagome looked over to make sure he hadn't had a teen heart attack and saw he was bothering the woman in front of him. Better her than Kagome.

~_~

"Where were you?!" Sango screamed as InuYasha walked in smirking. He took off his bandana and jacket, saving his sunglasses for last. He pulled his designer shades off to reveal shining golden eyes.

"Well, none of you woke me up even when we were supposed to go so I busted ass to get here and saw a girl in trouble so I helped out. I'm here now so let's get this show on the road, ne?" He said coolly and took a seat in one of the little black chairs. They had set up a table to sit behind and write down comments on the aspiring musicians performances. Miroku was attempting to balance a pen between his lip and his nose and Sango was still quietly fuming at InuYasha's tardiness. "Bring on the suckers!" InuYasha yelled unceremoniously, earning a swift punch from Sango. "Honestly, you think we attracted pros only?" he said as the first 'contestant' walked into the conference room. She plugged her guitar into the amp they had provided and began to play. Or more to the point, make noises as if someone had stepped on a cat.

"I never had any professional instruction." She said, voice quivering.

"It shows. Next!" InuYasha yelled as the girl rushed out of the room. Miroku tried to hide his laughter as the lead singer earned another punch. 

"I would've asked her to bear my child if you hadn't hurried her so much. Slow it down some so I can throw out a line every now and then, please." The slightly lecherous drummer smiled winningly.

"Miroku, this is band tryouts, not a personal dating service with music on the side. Get a grip!" Sango fumed. Living with the two boys had a tendency of becoming trying at the worst of times. An older man stumbled into the room, guitar weighing him down.

"Sorry, this isn't a geriatric band. Bring on the next one." InuYasha said lazily while Sango glared ferociously. "What? I'm just making this go faster. You seen the line? It's long, which guarantees that it'll be a few hours here. I personally don't want to waste my day listening to old people play when we know we aren't going to pick them. Why waste time?" 

"Fine. Have it your way. Why don't you just send a scout out to tell people to go home before they even get here?" She said sarcastically.

"That's not a bad idea! Oi! You!" InuYasha waggled a finger at the man who was in charge of opening and closing the door. "Here's the criteria: Late teens to early twenties, good looking with a slightly punk look. Not too visual kei or too goth, not too preppy. Now go eliminate those that don't fit." The man set off to do as told while InuYasha sat back in his chair, satisfied. Sango stood up and raised her hand as high as she could, before letting in fall in a sharp smack to the back of the white haired teen's head. "What the hell? You suggested it!" InuYasha howled while she sat back down.

"You are the biggest idiot sometimes." Sango said while Miroku shook with laughter. It was going to be a tough day.

~_~

"I CAN'T TAKE IT! I'm leaving to get some coffee. You judge the next ones. Miroku, I'm counting on you to eliminate them as fast as possible. Sango would let all of them play a whole set before politely sending them out with an 'I'll call you.' Tell me how it goes." InuYasha said and stormed out to get some caffeine. Miroku and Sango shrugged and asked for the next musician to enter.

After a few contestants had come and gone, InuYasha still hadn't returned. "Well, at least that last chick was hot." Miroku said with a small yawn. Sango gave him a disgusted look and then yawned herself. It had been a long day and both of them were hoping the line was almost through. A black haired girl entered the room and peered at the two yawning teens. 

"These are the auditions, right?" She asked uncertainly. Miroku perked up immediately upon seeing how pretty she was. Her outfit and guitar were even coordinated.

"Yes. What's your name?" Sango asked politely.

"Kagome Higurashi. Is there anything specific I should play?"

"If you know any of Kikyo's old parts, that'd be great, but anything will work. Feel free to adjust the settings on the amp." The girl leaned over and fiddled with knobs for a few seconds and then stood back up to resettle her guitar. She strummed the strings lightly to make sure she had everything set and began to play.

~_~

InuYasha wandered back to the room, coffee in hand. He heard the sounds of an audition beginning. Whoever it was, they were good. Better than Kikyo. They added new life to the music, as if they had composed it themselves. He pushed the door open and nearly spilt his drink when he saw who it was. The girl he had helped that morning had made it through the line to try out. She played like an angel, heck she even looked like one, standing there playing her heart out. 

"Amazing." InuYasha said quietly as he watched her play. She paused upon hearing the comment and looked over in his direction. "Sorry, go on." He said and walked over to his seat. Her eyes widened in shock upon sight of him. She didn't seem like she was going to begin again any time soon. Sango took the opportunity to thank the girl.

"Thanks Kagome. You were awesome!" Sango said with a warm smile.

"Best yet! Prettiest too. Would you-" Miroku didn't even get his whole sentence out before Sango smacked him soundly. Kagome smiled and tried not to laugh at the poor guy's pain. InuYasha peeled his gaze away from the scene that was playing itself out before him to ask Kagome a question.

"That guy ever shut up?" InuYasha asked with a cocky smirk. Kagome's eyes widened again.

"I knew it was you! Thanks by the way." She said gratefully.

"It was nothing." He waved off her thanks with a clawed hand. "I think we have our girl. Can't we just quit?" He whined.

"No! We have to listen to the others. It wouldn't be fair." Sango said, though she sounded like she really wanted Kagome in the group.

"I think," Miroku said after regaining consciousness, "that we take her. She's the best out of all of them and meets the criteria. Why not just let her in?"

"I agree with the perv. Come on Sango!" InuYasha wheedled. Sango sighed in near defeat.

"Why don't we ask her? Kagome, do you want to be in the Tamas?" Sango said in a diplomatic way.

"Yeah! I'd love to! But-"

"Then it's settled! You can move into the mansion tomorrow." InuYasha declared.

"Unless you want to come over tonight?" Sango asked excitedly. It was all too much for Kagome. One minute she had been standing in line to audition with no hope at all, then the next the bass player was asking her to come over to the band's mansion that night.

"I-I need to pack and tell my family where I'm going. I can come tomorrow, if you really want me." Kagome suggested nervously. It felt as if she'd wake up and all of this would have been some amazing dream.

"True. Give a woman some time to get ready." Miroku mentioned.

"That's the first thing you've said all day about women that hasn't been lecherous. Congratulations! A whole day with little hentai!" InuYasha said as he high fived the drummer. Life looked like it'd be getting more entertaining from now on for Kagome. InuYasha jumped up and poked his head out the door. "Look! We got our girl, now all of you go home!" He yelled. A chorus of groans and some insults greeted his announcement. "Yeah, yeah, screw you too." he strode back over to his seat and grabbed his disguise. "Let's go." InuYasha left after arranging his hair while the others followed suit.

"You first, Miroku! I won't let you grope her. Might scare her off. Go! Shoo!" Sango ushered him to the door, leaving Kagome alone in the room. "You coming?" she asked. The girl rushed out the door and off to her little junker. She had just been accepted as second guitarist to the Tamas. 'Someone out there must really like me.' she thought as she left the building. She paused to make sure no one was looking before jumping up and down, squealing with joy. It had been a good day for at least one person.

~_~

Can anyone say Simon Cowell complex? Okay, now you have all weekend to review since I won't be able to update till Monday, so tell a friend! *bribes work veeery well. I happen to have a thing for chocolate pocky…~_^


	3. Meals and Misery

Oh, thank you thank you! Oops, sorry foxshadow, I got your name wrong on the last chapter! I accidentally put foxfire. Thanks for putting your favorite line in the review! I like that! There's something InuYasha says about IHOP restaurants that I actually said…in fact, more than a few comments are stuff I've said…Anyways! Onward!

"My idea of total misery is sitting in traffic" –Mark Hoppus

~_~

"Mom! Mom! I got in!" Kagome screamed as she bounded into the shrine house. Her mother looked up from her cooking to see her daughter bouncing up and down with happiness. "And you said being a musician would never pan out! I'm going upstairs to pack because I'm leaving for the mansion tomorrow!" Kagome resisted the urge to add and 'in your face' to the statement as she took the stairs three at a time. 

She entered her bedroom and rushed over to the closet, dragged out three or four old bags and began throwing every article of clothing she owned into the suitcases. After tossing in her clothes she began to work on forcing in some hygiene products and personal effects. After her packing frenzy her room was nearly bare, as all that was left in it was the furniture and a few decorations. She'd thought twice about packing her bed clothes, deciding the mansion would have some. Kagome polished her guitar quickly before packing it up too and then threw on her pajamas. It was late and she wanted to rest up for tomorrow. 

~_~

A harsh knock sounded at the door to the Higurashi home. A young boy, about thirteen, jumped up from his seat on the floor and rushed to answer it.

"Hey. Some chick named Kagome here?" A tall white haired teen was standing at the door, looking down his nose at the boy, the picture of surliness. 

"Yeah, she's my sister. Who're you?" The kid asked. The teen sniffed as if he needed no introduction and didn't enjoy being questioned by what he considered a child.

"InuYasha. You?" 

"Wow! You're the lead singer of the Tamas! I love that band! My name's Souta by the way. Wanna come in? Kagome probably isn't ready yet; she never is. I could get you something to eat." Souta was practically bouncing out of sheer excitement. Hey, superstars didn't visit your house every day! InuYasha held in a smirk at the kid's antics and stepped in.

"Who's there Sou-" Mrs. Higurashi stepped out of the kitchen with a plate of pancakes in her hand. Silently she did a double take of the scene before her. A tall, white haired teen boy was standing in the living room, clad in black jeans and slightly tight red t-shirt bearing the band's logo. A black bandana covered the top of his head. Her son stood next to him, still in his pajamas, looking as if he'd known the guy forever. "You must be InuYasha. I'm Kagome's mother. Would you like some food?"

"Um, I'm okay." He answered, but his stomach chose that second to emit a large growl. "But then again, those pancakes look good. Obviously my mind and my stomach have different ideas this morning. Got any maple syrup?" InuYasha followed the woman to the kitchen and sat down at the table. 'May as well make myself at home. People who offer food can't be all that bad.' he thought as a steaming stack of pancakes was set down in front him. He began to pour as much syrup on them as humanly possible and dug in. Souta asked him questions about rock star life at every chance, which he answered happily between mouthfuls.

Right as he was telling a lively story about how he "kicked Miroku's ass" playing a new video game, Kagome thundered down the stairs into the room. She wore a tight pair of army green pants with straps down the outside of the calves, each strap clasped by an antique gold buckle. Her shirt was the same color green with a black floral motif across the chest. She wore a black long sleeved shirt underneath and black boots. Her hair was in the same spiky buns as yesterday. In one word she was gorgeous. InuYasha stopped mid sentence, mouth hanging open, still full of half chewed pancake. Mrs. Higurashi pointed to her mouth, trying to tell him to shut his own. He finally got the hint and swallowed loudly.

"Mom, you give everyone food, don't you?" Kagome asked and grabbed a plate, figuring if he was eating she would too. She took the seat next to InuYasha and began to dig in.

"Oi, what's he doing?" InuYasha whispered in her ear and pointed at an old man across the room. Her granpa had slipped into the room unnoticed and was doing something weird near the counter.

"Probably trying to exorcise the coffee machine. Don't worry, he thinks that a demon is inside everything and desperately needs exorcised. If you aren't careful he'll get you too, dog boy." He gave her a shocked look before she continued. "Don't think I didn't see those ears yesterday at the try outs. You hide them most of the time I guess, but you had your guard down yesterday. Don't let my mom see cause she'll mess with them. We're a curious family by nature." Right as she finished her last sentence, the old man snuck up behind InuYasha.

"DEMON BEGONE!" He yelled and slapped a scroll down on top of the star's bandana. InuYasha's eyes crossed at the shock of the impact and he began to choke on his pancakes. Kagome pat his back as he tried to expel the gob of dough from his windpipe, all the while yelling at her granpa.

"What do you think you're doing? He's a guest, Jii-chan! Don't hurt guests! He's famous too and could call all kinds of lawyers on you for that."

"I don't care! He has a demonic aura around him!"

"You and your spells! Are you okay?" InuYasha was still hocking up the food while she smacked his back. Souta and his mother were suppressing giggles at the strange tableau rather unsuccessfully. He finally got the pancakes out of his throat and inhaled deeply.

"I wouldn't call them on something this stupid. And I think I'll live to answer your question, thanks." He peeled the scroll off his head and returned it to the old man. "I think you left something up there." Jii-chan merely bustled off in a huff, muttering about teens today and their back talk. Kagome cleared her plate and went to grab her luggage.

"Ready to go yet?" She asked from her place behind the mountain of bags.

"Did you pack your whole room?" InuYasha picked up all of the bags in one heft and started for the door. "Thanks for the food. And I'll see if I can get another copy of that game, Souta. The companies usually give me a couple of prereleases every now and then." He motioned to Kagome. "Let's go." 

They walked down the steps to the little silver convertible that Kagome immediately recognized.

"Hey! You flipped me off yesterday!" She said angrily as she stepped into the passenger side. InuYasha finished packing up the back seat and jumped over his door and into the drivers seat. He slid the key into the ignition and took off down the road.

"Yeah, well you're the one who called me a dumb fuck. Guess that makes us even, huh?" He said contrarily and sped down the street. 

"You heard that?"

"These ears hear a lot more than you think. You have some lung power when you're pissed too, you know. Home please." He told the car as an auto pilot popped up, showing him a complete map of the city. A little red triangle indicated his location and a green circle showed his destination. He drove along at breakneck speed, seeing how much he could push this girl. Kikyo never liked his speed; perhaps this girl would. 

"Could you drive any faster?" She asked, settling back into the seat.

"Don't like it?"

"No, I actually was serious." She said with a smirk. "I'm just as much of a speed demon as you when I can get the junker going." They jerked to a sudden stop, making Kagome's head reel.

"Dammit! What the hell is going on here?" InuYasha said loudly as he surveyed the traffic they had just been caught in. "Turn on the damn radio so we can what's going on!"

"This car's like a rocket ship! It has more buttons than I could imagine for one little vehicle. What do I do, say 'radio on'?" She replied. The sound of rock music blared in response.

"Smarter than you look, I guess. Traffic report please." The radio changed stations automatically to the nearest traffic report. 

"At least it doesn't let you act like a total heathen with the please thing."

"Nope. Louder you piece of shit. See?" he smirked as the volume went up to a deafening level. He listened quietly to the announcer as the man explained that traffic was blocked up due to a minor wreck. Tow trucks promised to arrive soon, but it could be hours before they had the accident cleaned up.

"Fuck." InuYasha cursed loudly, attracting attention from nearby motorists. He noticed Kagome was muttering something under her breath. "What was that?"

"Oh. I've been counting every time you cussed since we met up this morning. I'm up to eight now. Care to add anymore?" She smiled innocently, making him more aggravated than he already was. Boy, it was easy to make him mad.

"You- you...." He trailed off.

"What were you going to say?"

"I was going to call you a name, but I didn't want to hear your incessant counting, wench. And no, wench is not a swear word by any standard. Now hang on, we're getting out of this mess." He looked over to his left, noticing there weren't any posts to run into on the sidewalk and began to speed down the pedestrian lane. He hung a sharp right through a set of road blocks and proceeded to blast down the pot hole filled road, jarring both of them up and down. They finally hit normal pavement and stopped jiggling.

"That..." Kagome gasped "That was great! I never get to ride like that anywhere, even if I am riding with a slight idiot."

"Yeah, well we need to get home. And I was going to call you a bitch earlier." He said and raced down the road, cutting people off at every chance.

"Well, you're an ass."

"Whiner."

"Jerk."

The war of words continued until they parked in the circular driveway of a large mansion. The house was built from ivory colored stone and was three stories high. The windows were large and white. The door was huge and white, like the windows. A balcony overhead created some shade over the small porch. The lawn was perfectly manicured and filled with an assortment of flowers and shrubbery. A large garage sat off to the side of the house, most likely filled with expensive cars. InuYasha lazily pulled the bags out of the back seat and walked up to the door, which was immediately opened by a member of the staff. He sat the luggage next to the door and took off his bandana, handing it to the maid that rushed forward to take it.

Kagome gaped at the luxurious hall before her. Open door ways led to other rooms, probably just as fancy. The hall had high, vaulted ceilings, pale blue walls, light wooden floors, the works. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceilings, casting a warm glow throughout the room.

"The rest of the place is nowhere near as fancy, we have a ton of room in here. Have Sango show you around if you want. She was going crazy waiting for you last night. I thought she was bad on a sugar high, but you got her really riled. Come, come." He motioned for her to follow him. They walked down the hall and into a living room. A light brown leather couch sat freely in the middle of the room in front of a large TV. A desk was in the corner, Miroku glued to the screen of the computer that sat on it. Sango was flopped over in the couch, dressed in a loose pair of jeans and a black t shirt. A glass of juice sat on the coffee table in front of her, next to a bowl of cereal.

"You're here!" She said and jumped up to greet Kagome. "Miroku's been glued to that computer all morning and hasn't even said good morning. Then again, his usual greeting consists of something along the lines of 'How you doin'?' and a wink. Stupid lech. How about I show you around and get you settled in." She chirped happily. Kagome liked her immediately. She trotted out the room, Kagome following behind slightly. The taller girl paused to let her new companion catch up. "You won't see most of the place, since a ton is servant's quarters or storage and the rest I couldn't possibly show you in a day. This house was designed with a space warp in it, I think. It looks big on the outside, but is huge inside. You could get lost easy."

"InuYasha said you couldn't wait for me to get here. Weren't you friends with Kikyo? You just sound starved for female attention." Kagome asked as Sango rattled off a list of rooms they were passing.

"Oh. I never considered her human since all she did was hang on things. She was always hanging on her cell phone, her makeup case, her credit card or her favorite, InuYasha. I don't see how she seduced him into even giving her a second look, but I give the sorceress credit. "

"Seduce?"

"I meant into dating. Kami, they never did that! Maybe you'd be better suited to talk to Miroku!" Kagome punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Kidding! Kidding! InuYasha might seem like a playboy, but I've seen every person who walked through those doors and he's never had anyone but Miroku in his room. I don't even know what the place looks like. I don't even think the maids bother to go in and clean it but once a month." They rounded a corner. " Up these stairs is the second floor. That's the boys' level. The girls' floor is up on top. InuYasha and Miroku took over that whole floor for their stuff, so Kikyo and I stayed up on the third floor. Elevator or steps?"

"You have an elevator?"

"Sure! It's over here." Sango walked down the hall to a pair of gold doors. They slid open to reveal a small, mirror covered elevator room. Sango pressed the button and the lift took off slowly. A small ping sounded when they reached their floor and they both got off. The level had light wood floors and coral colored walls. Sango stopped and pointed to two doors.

"The one down the hall is Kikyo's old room. The one in the middle is the guest room. Wanna see her old one first?" Kagome nodded and followed her to the door. She opened the large wooden panel to reveal a heavily decorated room that would have been better suited in Belle's Bordello in Gone with the Wind. The walls were a gaudy flocked purple, the floors cream carpet. Everything was either carved or jewel covered.

"I think I'll check out the guest room." Kagome said tentatively. Sango opened the other door and let her in. It was like a like heaven to Kagome, who always longed for tropical settings. The carpet was a lush cream and the walls had been painted a minty green. The furniture was all dark wood. The bed had four tall posts, surrounded by sheer cream curtains. The bed covers were cream and covered with prints of large palm leaves. "I'll be staying here."

"Great! The little door there connects to my room if you ever need something. That door goes to the bathroom and that one is to your closet. That window there is actually a door to your balcony. We'll have someone bring up your stuff and unpack it for you. Want to go downstairs and see what the guys are up to? You can explore as you get settled. If you get lost, yell for InuYasha. He can hear most everything."

They both went back downstairs, Kagome telling Sango about the ride over. Sango merely laughed, much to Kagome's annoyance.

"Sorry, it's just that InuYasha is always like that. You get used to it, or you smack him around until you do. Miroku requires more force though. He never gets the hint. If he gropes you, smack him as hard as possible. It's great stress relief since he never quits." She said and walked back into the living room. "Tonight we'll hang out in the basement. We always do. The basement is more of a huge rec room slash recording studio slash practicing area slash home theatre. It has a stereo system that could break a glass. If we turned up the theatre system and played just one song all together we could shatter a window." Kagome gaped again as they discovered that Miroku was still on the net and InuYasha had begun playing a video game.

"What do you guys wanna do?" Sango asked. No one answered. "Hello?" They only continued to ignore her, sucked into the electronic world. "Watch this." She whispered to Kagome. "Well, me and Kagome were thinking about going skinny dipping and then wandering the house naked." Both boys jumped up, actually believing her. "You're both lechs. We actually need to practice some with Kagome. She has to learn all of Kikyo's parts so we can re-record the album. Let's get going downstairs."

"My guitar. Where is it?" Kagome asked as they trekked down the hall.

"It's down there already. Come on!" 

~_~

Review Reply to…

Katrina: Sorry if the chapters are a bit short, but never EVER worry about me taking weeks to update. I'm the kind of person with way too much time on my hands. I'm trying to make up for size in frequency.

Animepeep: Thanks for the pocky! Hojo? No, I didn't mean to. And DON'T FORGET TO TAPE INUYASHA OR I SHALL HAVE TO HIT YOU WITH A RAMEN NOODLE!

Melby: Yes, this is an Inu/Kag fic as well as some Mir/San. I'm so glad you think I portray InuYasha well! I think he's the easiest character for me to write.

Foxshadow: You crack me up! Pocky rocks! You're such a faithful reader and reviewer! You deserve special award.

Okay, can anyone guess which scene is my fav? Remember, review review!

Quote of the day:

"At least rap has a message, even if it is f**k you." My grandma. (seriously! She likes Ludacris and thinks Lil John and the Eastside boys are quite talented. Me, I like blink 182 and stuff like that. Oh well, each to his/her own) 


	4. American Tv Rocks!

Gods, my computer has some kind of a virus. I really wanted to just say "F**k it" today and not update, but I fought with the thing and here it is. I'm still aggravated with it and am going to go hunt down the evil bug. Pray for me.

~_~

Kagome followed them into the basement. It was just as big as Sango had said, maybe bigger. They immediately went down to the far end of the room where a door separated the practice area from the rest of the room. The walls in the entire place were a bright blue with the same carpet as Kagome's room. Inside the slightly smaller room were a set of drums, a few basses and some guitars that they used. InuYasha grabbed his favorite black guitar off the wall while Sango picked up her hot pink bass. Kagome unpacked her own instrument.

"You know any of Kikyo's parts already?" InuYasha asked gruffly as he tuned his guitar.

"All of them." Kagome said, matching his tone of voice perfectly. Sango and Miroku snickered while he remained oblivious to anything but his instrument.

"Fine. Show me." He launched into a song while Kagome plugged her guitar into the amp. She picked up and followed right along, amazing the rest of the group. Soon they had all joined in. "Okay, so you play. Kikyo sang back up sometimes. Bet you can't carry a tune in a basket." He remarked snidely. 

"If I couldn't, why'd you pick me?" He then went back into the song, singing as loud he possibly could to be heard above the noise. Kagome backed up her statement with her melodic voice. It would be a long session at this rate.

~_~

Evening fell and they finally gave up practicing. Kagome put her guitar on the stand near the wall that used to hold Kikyo's instruments and looked disheartendly at her finger tips. They were red and nearly bleeding; she had never practiced so long or so hard. InuYasha picked up her hand and looked at it.

"Put some cream on them tonight and next time use some duct tape on the pads until the calluses get bigger. You'll live though." He dropped her hand and walked away. 

'He is so confusing! One minute he's being a total ass and the next he's holding my hand, telling me how to fix my fingers. I mean, he's hot as can be but his personality certainly lacks at times. But other times he's really nice and fun and--okay! Must stop thinking about him! And why was I thinking he's hot? Ugh!' Kagome thought as she trooped up the stairs to get changed into her pajamas. They were going to watch some tv in the rec room. She tromped into her room, thinking about InuYasha the whole time.

~_~

Kagome and Sango raced down the stairs to the basement, seeing who could get down fastest without breaking their necks. Kagome ended up winning, beating Sango by a long shot after Miroku came up behind her in a kamikaze grope. She was busy beating him to a pulp while Kagome jumped into the seat on the far end of the L shaped couch. She flipped out the recliner and leaned back. 

"Livin' the life!" She said as she got settled in. Sango was still busy beating up the drummer when InuYasha came flying down the stairs, dressed only in boxers and socks.

"The Bachelorette is on!" He yelled as he bounded into the room. Kagome gave him a weird look, making him blush slightly. "What? Sango got me started on it and that girl on the show is hot!" He then gave Kagome a disgusted look and walked over to where she was sitting. He stood there and waited patiently, as if expecting her to do something besides stare. "See something you like?" he asked, this time making her blush.

"What do you want?"

"You're in my seat!"

"I got here first."

"Yes, but I always sit here."

"Why is this your seat?"

"Because you can see the tv best from here and the air vent is right under it so you're always comfortable. Now up!" He said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Let me spell it out for you. N-O." Kagome smiled sweetly. InuYasha sighed heavily.

"Move now or you won't like what I do next."

"Do whatever you like, I don't care."

"Fine." He turned around and then sat down in her lap. "Now I have my seat."

Kagome's face burned red upon realization that one of the most famous rock stars in Japan and possibly the world, was sitting in her lap in nothing but a pair of red boxers and socks. Not only that, but she wasn't exactly well dressed herself. She'd thrown on her usual shorts and tight shirt that she wore to bed. 

"Why InuYasha, doesn't the girl usually go on the top in this situation?" Miroku had obviously regained consciousness and found them in their odd position.

"I have my seat, so I'm fine. You Kagome?" InuYasha countered.

"Personally you have some of the sharpest ass bones I ever encountered." She wiggled beneath him to show her discomfort. It actually wasn't too bad, but it wasn't as if she'd ever say that to him.

"The only way you'll move me is to actually put your hands under my bum and force me up. If you can." He said and leaned back happily.

'Well, either I choke my pride and do it, or have him sit on me all night, which wouldn't be bad...no! He moves!' Kagome swallowed furiously, forced her hands underneath him and pushed up. InuYasha's golden eyes widened in shock. He'd never though Kagome would actually do it! He leapt up into the air, letting out a small squeak. 

"Kagome, I've rubbed off on you already!" Miroku said teasingly. She folded her arms over her chest.

"I win. Now be a good boy and turn up the tv. Oh, and InuYasha, I take that back. Your ass isn't that bad after all." She winked saucily, enjoying the look of horror on his face. He sat down next to her on the couch and turned up the tv. Sango grabbed some chips and drinks and they all set back to enjoy the show.

~_~

InuYasha lay back into his soft bed, thinking over the day's events, most of them containing something about Kagome. She was amazing in short, She had no fear, could match him in any argument, had great taste in what she wore, was built like a goddess, and was pretty much one of the best things to ever happen to him. 

'Man, I need to lighten up on the tv shows. It's almost like I love her...no, I couldn't! That's crazy! I've only known her for a day. She's just a friend. A friend.' He rolled over and went to sleep; hoping Kagome didn't think he was a total jerk.

~_~

Sango wandered downstairs early the next morning, only to find Miroku already awake and glued to the TV. His eyes seemed glazed as he watched the program.

"What are you watching?" She asked and took a seat next to him.

"Some American talk show."

"But you don't speak english."

"Yeah, but I've got it figured out. It's angry lesbians attack day. See, the one in the red skirt is in love with the one with the blonde hair, but blondie loves both red skirt and blue skirt. Yes! Now they're kissing to make up! Say, are we going to the U.S. anytime soon? I like their tv shows." Miroku watched the screen raptly. 

"You are the biggest lech I've ever met!" Sango said and changed the channel.

"Aw! You changed it." Miroku pouted for a second. "Why does everyone call me a lech?"

"Because you have...tendencies. Consider yourself branded." She said and stole a miniature donut from the box he was holding. He merely smiled and shared his breakfast, even though she had changed the channel. 

~_~

Kagome rolled over in bed, light shining cruelly into her eyes. It was morning and she needed to take a bath since she had just flopped into bed last night. She slid out from under her safe blankets and trudged to the door Sango said hid her bathroom. The room turned out to be gorgeous. The entire room was done up in ivory and gold; a huge tub sat freely in the middle of the room. The bath was round and could have easily fit three people comfortably. A large chandelier hung directly over the bath, the only light in the room, casting a glow throughout the area. It was the most beautiful bathroom she had ever seen. Soaps and shampoos were already set out as if the room had expected her arrival. She drew a hot bath and slid into the water.

'Yup. Life is really good here. If only I could understand InuYasha. I've only known him for a day and I'm already confused about his personality. He's worse than a stupid rubik's cube. No matter what I do, he's always got another face. He's a jerk, but he's the best guy ever at the same time. Hopefully I can break whatever walls he's got up and really get to know him.'

~_~

Kagome bounced downstairs, happy to be clean. Miroku and Sango sat on the couch eating donuts and watching tv. 'Those two are so cute together!' Kagome thought as she walked over and sat down next to Sango.

"Where's InuYasha?" She asked and took a donut.

"Sleeping. If he doesn't get up soon we won't make it to lunch. I worked hard to get reservations at that cafe too!'' Sango said indignantly. "Well, not that hard since they get publicity from us arriving, but I want to eat!"

"I'll go get him!" Kagome jumped up before Miroku could object. She walked through the halls whistling a favorite tune. After a short trip on the elevator she arrived on the second floor and took a moment to look around. It was definitely a guy's floor. Posters covered the walls along with other random clutter. 'How will I find his room?' she thought as she looked at the reams of doors around her. It was worse than something out of Alice in Wonderland. She wandered the halls for sometime before actually looking at the doors. 

"Shoulda done that in the first place." She mumbled as she noticed one door in particular. 'InuYasha's Room' was scrawled on a dry erase board with a do not disturb sign on the knob. She pulled the handle as the door swung open. 

The entire room was nearly pitch black; it looked like a bat cave. She found a switch that turned on one or two small ceiling lights and looked around. The walls were covered in posters so that you could barely see the red paint underneath. His furniture was dark wood too, his bed a four poster with red and black blankets. Heavy black velvet drapes hung around it. His nightstand and desk were cluttered with random items. Kagome climbed up next to him on the bed, deciding exactly which tactic to use on a eighteen year old male. She finally leaned over next to his ear.

"InuYasha," she whispered, noticing how his ear perked up at the sound of her voice. 'InuYasha," she said again, tracing his jaw line lightly with her finger tip. A slow, sloppy grin spread across his face, making his features even more handsome than they already were. It was insane how cute he could be when he wasn't speaking. "InuYasha, time to get up." Might as well be gentle first time around. 

He groaned quietly and snuggled back into his pillow, enjoying the attention. 'I don't even want to know what he's dreaming about.' Kagome thought as she called his name again. It was time to get rough. "WAKE UP!" She yelled. He rolled out of the bed, nearly missing hitting the nightstand with his head by mere inches. He stood up as Kagome pulled open the black drapes that covered his gigantic bay windows, allowing the light to blind him before he adjusted to the sun. She walked back downstairs, a victorious smile on her face.

~_~

""How'd you wake him up?" Miroku asked in awe. "Every time I tried to, he'd knock me across the room. Please share your secrets oh great one!" Kagome giggled as he pretended to worship her and sat down on the couch.

"All I did was call his name and he shot up like a rocket. And speak of the devil!" InuYasha bounded down the stairs and into the living room. 

"We gonna go yet?" InuYasha asked as they all trooped out the door. A black limo sat in the circular driveway, gleaming in the sun. Sango and Miroku slid into the backseat together while InuYasha walked around behind the vehicle to his own silver convertible. "You riding with them or me?" He asked as he revved the engine loudly. Kagome stopped for a second to think. She wanted to ride with InuYasha, but didn't want to disappoint Sango or Miroku.

"If you guys don't care." Kagome said. Sango and Miroku assured her it was fine and she hopped into the passenger seat. InuYasha backed up swiftly and turned the car around.

"Think we can beat 'em?"

"What?"

"It's a circular driveway, dummy. Think we can beat them to the meeting point?" He asked and then sped off without hesitation. They easily beat the limo out of the driveway and were burning down the road in no time. Kagome laughed happily, causing InuYasha to crack the smallest of smiles. Now he had a driving partner that loved speed as much as he did. Ever since Kagome showed up things had been much more interesting.

~_~

Later that evening the phone rang, jerking all four teens from their evening stupor. They'd been watching movies pretty much all day and were beginning to get strange, numb feelings in their eyes. InuYasha rolled over on the floor and stood up to grab the telephone. He looked at the caller ID and sighed. Sesshomaru.

"Yes bastard?" He said; the usual greeting.

"Hmph. Still using that greeting, are we? That or you were talking to yourself again, my han-" the cool voice on the other end of the phone was interrupted.

"You have five seconds to convince me to stay on the line." InuYasha growled.

"If you say so. I'd rather not be making this call myself, seeing as I was very involved with my wife when I remembered that a certain brother needed a reminder."

"Spare me the details of your love life and get to the point."

"You are getting some time to get your act together so that the new girl can get practiced. I expect you to be in my recording studio tomorrow, not your grubby basement. I need to hear how she plays and sings. You will not be making your first tour stop, instead you will go straight to Wakkanai. You will make up the date in the end. I expect you on time in the morning. The usual hour." Sesshomaru hung up with that last word. InuYasha growled and mumbled a string of curses under his breath.

"The spawn of evil wishes for us to be awake at seven am and in his studio on time." He said in a mocking voice, then flopped back down on the floor. "Ass."

~_~

Review Replies!

Rocky: every day? I don't think I could do everyday, but I try to be fast! Thanks!

Liz: I know. Glad you liked it! She's like that all the time and is pretty interesting to be around.

Anime-babe21: Thanks! I try to spell check twice just in case. What does Miroku look up on the net? I'd like to think he looks up perfectly normal guy stuff most of the time, but occasionally lets his lecherous streak come out. 13¢ and gum? Woopee! A very good deal! Please put the stick away or hide it behind your back, sticks are scary. ~_^

Johnathold: Thankies! Yeah, her taste in music is kinda sucky and having to listen to rap all the time is harsh. I love the Ramones and the Offspring! That kinda of music is where my taste lies, but I try to appreciate all different forms. Punk rock is the best!

Blackcat92: Thanks!

Mirai Catarina: Oooh, thank you! That's one of the best compliments a fanfic writer can get! I try my best! (I'm kinda poor on internet lingo. What's IMHO mean? *blushes embarrassedly*) 

Katrina: I love answering to reviews! I'm reading a ton of stories too and have about 40 authors on my watch list.

Someone: Oh yes, speed is good.

Foxshadow: You rock! Really! I love long reviews and hearing your favorite parts. More pocky? I'm gonna get fat over here! My gran is pretty cool. You like blink 182? Yeah! Trapt is cool too, I like their song Headstrong. I got pit tickets to see blink 182 in may when they come to town! Yes! *does happy dance* ps- sometimes I wish my gran was stereotypical. Having a…radical grannie gets rough sometimes. 

Quote of the day:

"Mother-f**k! My guy died again!" –my mom. We were playing Diablo (a computer game) and her mercenary died. For the fifth time that hour.

Review! Review!


	5. Problems, Problems

My life sucks. Really. You know that virus my computer had? Well, my dad deleted a bunch of stuff off my computer INCLUDING the folder containing this story. Almost 90 pages shot to hell (I was getting close to finishing the whole thing). I cried for two hours. I have parts of it on back up, luckily, but I lost a bunch of stuff. If you really want me to continue, now would be the time to say so since right now I need some encouragement and some lovin' to help me get the motivation to fix everything. This'll probably slow down updates a bit, but I'll keep working if you want me to. 

I'm now eating raw cookie dough, screw salmonella, life can't get any lower. 

 ~_~

The band wandered out of the mansion, still bleary eyed from lack of sleep. They silently loaded up into the limo once more, each carrying at least two instruments apiece. They were going to re-record the album with Kagome on the tracks. The ride to Sesshomaru's studio was unearthly silent. They pulled up to the curb and began the process of unloading. None of them even noticed their surroundings as they strolled down the halls to a door marked 'Recording Studio One." A tall white haired man was waiting for them inside, clad in jeans and a black t-shirt. Kagome stared in shock at his appearance. She didn't think a business man of the caliber he was would wear anything but suits.

"What? I can't wear a suit all the time. I'm only a demon. Let's get it set up." He said with a tiny smile.

"Great job, Kagome. You actually got him to smile. I always thought his face would break. You set up next to me over here." InuYasha pointed to a microphone that Kagome immediately trudged over to. Miroku flopped down onto his stool while Sango plugged in her bass.

"Look alive now. We'll never get this whole thing redone if you're asleep." Sesshomaru's voice came from over the speakers. He was seated in the area that held all of the electronic things, separated from the band. InuYasha tied his bandana on and fixed his guitar more comfortably on his shoulder. Kagome was looking at her fingers in a sad way again. The calluses had built up some, but she was still nervous that they'd really break open today.

"Oi! Kagome! Didn't think I'd forget you?" InuYasha smirked and threw a roll of duct tape at her. She grinned and ripped off enough to cover her fingers, then moved to throw it back. "Oh no. That's your personal roll now."

"Sometime today please. Rin is waiting for me at home and I want to see her before next week."

InuYasha made mean faces and imitated his brother's speech. "Begin at the beginning?" he said after he finished his little act. Sango nodded tiredly and strummed her instrument.

After a while they had finished recording the first five or so tracks and it was near midmorning, but they were having problems with one area of a song. Or more, Kagome was having problems. There was one section she couldn't hit right. She was frustrated to the point of just throwing the guitar down and leaving. 

"Oh, screw it! I hate feeling like I'm holding everyone up!" She yelled and put her face in her hands. InuYasha bit his lip and put down his guitar. 

"Okay! It's okay!" he said and snuck up behind her. "Take your hand off the fret. There you go. Now, put your fingers like this." He slipped his arms under hers as if he was holding the guitar with a person in between. "Try." Kagome attempted to imitate his movements, but still couldn't get it. He put his fingers over her own, forcing Kagome to be pressed up against his chest. Her heart flipped over in her chest while heat spread through her face.

'What's wrong with me?' she thought as he began to move her hands, producing the exact sounds. 

"Got it?" InuYasha asked as she nodded. 

'Thank kami he can't see my face.'

InuYasha leaned over until his mouth was level with Kagome's ear. "Don't worry. Kikyo would piss around so much that it'd take us all day to even do half of the cd. You're a prodigy at this rate. No one cares if you hold us up a little. You're new to this and plus, it gives us a little break in between. Don't worry about it." he whispered, warm breath tickling her ear. What was wrong with her? Kagome sighed and practiced the rift a couple of times before she was comfortable. She got it down and couldn't help give a little victory hop. InuYasha looked over and gave her a brilliant smile. He didn't know why, but seeing her happy made him happy too.

"Stop with the love fest and get playing!" Sesshomaru barked. He was lucky that he had chosen that second to turn around so that he wouldn't see the rude gesture InuYasha gave him. 

~_~

"This is so cool. I've never cut an album before. It wasn't that bad really." Kagome bounded up the stairs to the door of the mansion. InuYasha merely smiled and shook his head at her antics. Miroku and Sango hung back a bit.

"You remember how after doing a record, InuYasha would be a really nasty mood?" Miroku asked quietly. Sango watched as he took the steps two at a time.

"Yeah. Kagome's changed him a lot." Sango said as she grabbed a case off the ground. "Here little drummer boy. Take this." she said and thrust the box into his arms. They walked the stairs together as Kagome bounced around the hall.

"Hey! We've been practicing all week and I think we need a break. How about we go out to a club tonight or something? We could all take naps and leave in the evening." Kagome was practically begging to leave the house. InuYasha sat down his guitar case.

"Only for you." He sighed and took off for the basement. Kagome smiled happily and followed with her own instrument to unpack. It was a little after noon and all of them were tired. Sango and Miroku came down with no groping or slapping, a real first for them. Kagome flopped down in InuYasha's favorite seat, just to see what he'd do. He walked over and groaned upon sight of his seat being occupied.

"I think a change of tactics is in order." He said, then picked Kagome up, sat down and placed her on his lap. "Not bad, bony-ness." Kagome turned around to face him and pouted.

"Hey! I have a waaay better bum than you do! You envy mine!"

"Yeah, uh-huh."

"Come on! You'd have get butt implants before you had my bun's of steel."

"I think you're asking the wrong guy here. Miroku is our resident ass man." Miroku's head popped up from behind the bar.

"I'd be glad to judge your gropeablilty Kagome." He said with a smirk. A small growl escaped InuYasha's throat, much to Kagome's amusement.

"I thought we were taking naps before we went out tonight." Sango muttered and rolled over onto her side. InuYasha allowed Kagome to slide off his lap and lay down on the couch. He kicked back the recliner and leaned back, Kagome's head resting near his hip. Miroku moved to lay down with Sango, but she caught him in time. "Not a chance in hell, lecher." He sighed and claimed the spare loveseat for himself.

"One day I'll be lucky." he said and lay down.

~_~

InuYasha was the first to wake up out of the four of them. He sighed lazily and began to stretch but stopped when he noticed a small weigh in his lap. Kagome had obviously moved in her sleep until her head rested on his thighs. She looked extremely comfortable, a smile had even graced her face. He watched her sleep for a while, not knowing what to do. He ran a clawed finger absently through her hair as he wondered exactly how to wake her up. After all, she had played that little trick on him the other day and no way was he going to let that go. An idea dawned on him as he remembered the glass of coke he had been drinking last night. It still sat on the end table, only ice remaining. InuYasha smirked and picked up a small cube, then looked for the place to put it. Her pants were a bit baggy, allowing her pink underwear to show.

'Perfect.' he thought and pulled on the elastic waistband of her panties, just barely allowing him enough room to slide in the ice cube. Kagome merely kept on sleeping for a second until she rolled onto her back, receiving the full force of the cold. She screamed and sat up, all the while trying to pull the chunk of ice out of her pants.

"You!" She seethed and pulled out the ice to fling into InuYasha's laughing face. 

"Just remember.." he began between gasps " that in this house, payback's a bitch and karma always comes back to bite you. Now how to wake up the other lazy scum?" Kagome looked over to see the others quietly sleeping. "You take Sango. I've got Miroku figured out." Kagome complied quietly and walked over to Sango. She contemplated a few forms of wake ups and finally settled on the cruelest one. She swallowed her pride and placed one hand on the small of Sango's back, dangerously close to her rear end. Sango shot up immediately and raised a hand to strike the predator.

"Oh! I thought you were the lech! What were you doing?" She said tiredly while Kagome giggled.

"Just waking you up in the meanest way I could. You looked so angry! Let's watch InuYasha wake up Miroku." InuYasha had already snuck over to the resting guy and leaned down to his ear. He took a deep breath and yelled.

"Oh my god! Sango's naked!" Miroku sat up faster than humanly possible and groaned when he saw Sango still fully clothed and sitting on the couch.

"I hate it when you wake me up like that. Get a man's hopes up and then kick him with a lie. Awful." Miroku shook his head sadly while InuYasha grinned.

"Are we getting dressed or what? We'll never get in at this rate!" Sango barked and huffed up the stairs. Kagome shrugged and followed her up the steps, trying to decide what to wear.

~_~

"COME ON ALREADY! IT'S TEN TILL! HURRY IT UP!" InuYasha yelled up the stairs to the girls. They had been waiting for them for the past hour. How long did it take to get dressed and pick up a purse?

"We're here! You don't have to yell, InuYasha." Kagome said as she strutted into the living room. She wore a short black skirt with a pale yellow halter top. Black boots made her legs seem even longer than they already were. Sango also had dressed in a black skirt, but wore a bright pink tube top over a black net shirt. Both girls had their hair down with light make-up on.

"They could make you wait all month and it'd still be worth it." Miroku sighed. InuYasha mumbled in agreement. InuYasha had put his bandana back on to hide his hair and Miroku had let his hair down from its usual ponytail, as not to be recognized.

"You guys look...good." Kagome stuttered. 

"You too. Let's go." InuYasha mumbled in reply and headed out the door.

They arrived at a club about a half hour later. They were let in immediately since Miroku knew the bouncer. People were packed inside, either dancing, sitting around or drinking something. Music blared in their ears as InuYasha was taken over by a slight wave of nausea. Every time he entered one of the closed up spaces he felt a little sick from the different smells. Miroku recognized the anguished look to his face and suggested they get a table.

"InuYasha? Are you okay?" Kagome yelled over the noise as they sat down.

"Yeah, I'll be fine in a second. The different smells get me a little disoriented when I first come in since there isn't any windows or anything like that. I just need to sit down for a little bit and get adjusted. You can go dance if you want." He offered and placed his face into his hands.

"I'll stay here with you. Are you sure that you're really fine?"

"Positive. The fact that I'm hungry doesn't help though." He mumbled into his hands. Kagome flagged down a waiter and ordered them some fries and cokes. Miroku had already dragged Sango onto the dance floor so they were all alone. The waiter returned quickly with their order and InuYasha dug into the snack. "You want some? I don't want to be too much of a hog." He stopped shoveling the fries into his mouth as he waited for Kagome's answer.

"I'll take a couple, but you can have the rest." She said and stole a few fries. InuYasha returned to eating while she looked longingly at the dance floor. He finished off the basket and proceeded to rub his temples. The music didn't bother him, just the smells. He watched while Kagome sighed sadly. "You want to dance?"

"I'll just wait for you to feel better."

"I was asking if you wanted to dance with me. Don't worry, I'm fine now. I told you it'd only be a minute. Shall we?" He stood up and grabbed her hand. Kagome followed him to where Miroku and Sango were. They were both laughing and having fun and Miroku was keeping his wandering hands to himself. 

'He's good.' Kagome thought after watching InuYasha for a few seconds. He looked down his nose at her in his usual arrogant way.

"What? Think that just because we're in a band doesn't mean we can't dance?" He said smugly. Kagome just sighed and shook her head at his conceited grin. He was terrible at times, but at the same time he was great. He'd probably always be a bit of a mystery to Kagome and she was okay with that.

After a while the dj announced they would play a couple of slow songs just for fun. Sango looked hesitant but let Miroku dance with her. InuYasha blushed slightly as he and Kagome stood there.

"You want to dance?" he asked quietly. Kagome bit her lip, blushing, and moved into his arms. She lay her head lightly on his chest as they danced, his heartbeat pounding in her ear. Her stomach did its usual flip flops as it always did when he came close to her. InuYasha's chin rested on the top of her head.

"You smell good." he mumbled almost inaudibly. She smelled like a mixture of rosemary, sage and some flowed he couldn't identify.

"What?" Kagome asked. She could have sworn he said she smelled good.

"N-nothing." InuYasha stammered in reply. Kagome shrugged it off, but she knew what he'd said. Her heart did a little flip again. 'I have to ask someone about this. All my insides do is bounce around anymore. It isn't a bad feeling, but it still makes me nervous.' she thought and leaned closer to him. She didn't know, but it felt right. Something deep inside of her loved how safe she felt in his arms and she decided to let that part have control, just for tonight.

~_~

It was the next morning and Kagome resolved to ask someone about her little flippy problem. 'Maybe Sango will understand. I'll go ask.' she thought and knocked on the connecting door. 

"Sango! Can I come in?" She yelled to the girl on the other side of the panel. A muffled yes came as a reply and Kagome walked in. Sango's room was brightly colored, reminiscent of a tropical garden. Sango was sitting on the bed tuning her bass when Kagome came over and flopped down next to her.

"Yes? Got a problem?" Sango said absently.

"You're my very best friend and I could tell you anything, right? And you would never, ever tell." Now Sango put down her instrument and turned toward her downcast friend.

"Come tell me you problems and I'll try my very best to think of some good advice or make up some good lies. I'd never tell." 

"That's reassuring, I think. I keep getting these really weird feelings around...a certain person."

"Guy or girl?"

"Guy."

"Describe them please." she said professionally, as if she were a psychiatrist.

"Every time he touches me, my stomach does flip flops and my heart races and the same thing happens when he looks at me a certain way. It doesn't happen all the time, but when it does it's really bad. I blush constantly. Am I dying?" Kagome wondered aloud. Sango giggled and lay back onto a yellow pillow.

"Nope. You're just in love. Is that better than dying?"

"If it's always gonna be like this I might opt for no." Kagome rolled over and buried her face into the bed. "How do you know?"

"I get them too." Sango sighed dreamily as Kagome sat up again.

"Around who?"

"Who do you get yours around?" Sango retorted. Kagome merely gulped and blushed. "Do I know him? Is his cute? I'll play twenty questions!"

"Yes and yes. Actually, he's not cute. He's gorgeous! He's built like a god, with a wonderful voice and a perfect face. It drives me insane!" Kagome was the epitome of girliness.

"You love Miroku?" Sango said, a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"No, but that tells me what you think of him! Is Miroku the one you get the feelings for?" Kagome asked. Sango burned red and nodded.

"Now who is your guy?"

"I-Inu-InuYasha." Kagome said in a rush, her face burning redder than Sango's. Both girls looked at each other and laughed. "He's just so complicated! He's really nice sometimes and really nasty others! It drives me nuts! I wish I knew what he thought of me..."

"He likes you a lot. I can tell with how he acts around you. He's always a little hateful, but he puts up walls to try to defend himself. He's had a lot of hurt in his life and is scared to love or trust anyone. He wasn't nearly as nice when I first showed up, but when he learns you're an okay person he's fine. It'll be okay if you can get him to open his shell a little bit."

"Oh." Kagome rooted around under her head to find the source of whatever was causing her so much discomfort. She finally pulled out a book and looked at its cover. "Master of the Night. Is this where you get all of your advice from Sango? Trashy romance novels? A young woman falls deeply in love with a-hey!" She squealed as Sango ripped the book from her hands.

"Okay! I enjoy the occasional romance novel, big whoop! You like InuYasha! And what are you going to do about it, hmm? I think you should tell him how you feel."

"Wha-? Well, I think you should Miroku how you feel!"

"Never! We're in love with a hopeless lecher and an arrogant jerk. Now all we have to do is make them ours. Easy, maybe?" 

"A snowball has a better chance in hell."

~_~

"Oi! Miroku!" InuYasha said as he walked into his friends room. Miroku looked up from his laptop and sighed.

"You never do knock?"

"Nope. I have a problem. I need advice; non-lecherous please."

"I'll see what I can do." Miroku never even looked up from his computer. 

"What are you doing?"

"Playing a game I've never won before and I'm about to win. One second...one second..." Miroku pressed keys rapidly, his attention fixated on the screen. InuYasha snuck one hand up into the air and brought it down swiftly, slamming the laptop shut. Miroku scowled. "What's your problem?"

"You can't tell no matter what."

"Done."

"Okay. I think I might have found someone I like."

"Let me see, you like me, you like Sango, you like Kagome, you like your cook. What kind of like are you talking about, because I could go on forever."

"Like like. In like."

"Be specific my first grade student. Don't use that stupid like stuff with me. We talking love here?"

"You could say that."

"So tell her."

"I can't."

"Why?"

"I've only know her a couple of weeks and I don't know if she likes me in that way."

"Ah! The lady Kagome! Now we're getting somewhere. Perhaps if you were kinder to her she would respond to your attentions in a more positive way."

"Perhaps if you didn't grope Sango she'd respond in a more positive way."

"Ouch. You wound me." Miroku dramatically placed his hand over his heart in mock pain. "I don't know what to tell you then. Just talk to her I guess. I might be a ladies man, but I cannot tell exactly what women think."

"Ladies man? Feh!" InuYasha said as he stalked out and into his own bed room.

~_~

Review Replies!

Jonathold: I've never seen that, but it sounds good! I know most those bands (and like them) except for the Japanese one, MC5, and MU330. I totally know who Queen is! Freddy Mercury, the whole bit. Danke, by the way! (german for thanks!)

Foxshadow: Haha! Sounds like my house! Actually, the seat in the fic is one at my neighbors that my gran always uses. I was in it once and she told me to "Get the hell out" of her seat.  Ah, yes, mothers and road rage. Gotta love it. They won't let you go? Their concerts aren't that bad!....I take that back, last time they had F**K written in flames above the stage and a girl threw her bra on stage, but other than that they're fine. (the bra gets referenced later in the story if I still have that part)

Riah89: Thanks! Here it is!

Anonymus_girl_1: Thanks!

Someone: My whole family does too! I hate that! I died about twenty times when I fought Duriel but didn't die at all when I fought Baal. Odd, huh? I thought Duriel was tough, he has the power to kill me at least once every time I fight him.

Mirai Catarina: Oh, I feel dumb now…*blushes and slinks away*

Quote of the Day:

"Don't f**k with the chickens, because they will get you" My gran, talking about her farm experiences. (she tells a really funny story about a rooster that chased her up a swing set)

….

30 minutes later since typing a/n at beginning of chapter: Life can get lower. I am now voraciously ill. Friggin' raw cookies and their dumb food poisoning properties. I'm off to hurl. @_@ I swear this is one of the worst days ever.


	6. Jellyfish are better than they seem

Awww…..you guys make me feel so loved! I worked hard today and got out this chapter just because you all gave me so many reviews! I send you all pocky and cookies! (fully baked so none of you have to go through what I went through. I was so dumb, yesterday I came home and ate brownie batter and got sick **again. **I got to stay home from school though, so that's a plus.) On with the story though!

~_~

"Saaaangoooo! I'm booored!" Kagome whined as she lay on her friend's bed. Sango sighed.

"Me too. What do you want to do?"

"I dunno. What do you want to do?"

"I dunno. What do you want to do?"

"I dunno. This little exchange of words could go on for days. Hey, do you know tae-bo?"

"I love that tape! Want to go work out? We have a gym with a big tv."

"Sure!" Kagome leapt up to get changed into her work out clothes. After both girls had changed into their shorts and tops, they headed off through the maze of halls to the gym. It was just as large as Sango said and filled with equipment. Sango popped the tape into the vcr and got into her stance.

~_~

"Where do you think the ladies went? I haven't seen them all day." Miroku leaned on the door frame to InuYasha's room. His friend shrugged and got up off his bed. "Want to go find out? It'd beat sitting around up here." InuYasha merely followed Miroku in silence, still trying to think about what to do with the Kagome situation.

They searched for what felt like, and most likely was, hours. "I dunno what they're doing, but they hid themselves well." Miroku said. 

"You hear that?" InuYasha's ears perked up and swiveled around independently.

"I don't have your hearing, remember?"

"Oh, sorry. It's coming from the gym." He lead the way to the gym and found Sango and Kagome punching and kicking away to the commands on the tv. "What the-" He stopped midsentence as he took in their work out clothes. Both girls wore black spandex shorts and sports bras, hair tied up into pony tails. Miroku's jaw dropped on sight.

"OH? You guys found us! We were just doing some tae-bo." Kagome said cheerfully, despite the fact that she was covered in sweat and her arms felt weak.

"Ah, sissy boxing." InuYasha mocked. Sango frowned angrily.

"Hey, we could kick your asses with our hands tied behind our backs!" Sango called.

"Is that a challenge?" InuYasha replied, seeing as Miroku was still staring lecherously.

"I think so! Bring it on!" Kagome waggled her finger invitingly. Soon the fight was on. It only took one kick for Sango to take out Miroku since he was still off in la la land. Kagome tried to land a hit on InuYasha, but he easily caught her wrist every time.

"What are you? Something from the Terminator?" she gasped as he neatly caught her ankle.

"Hmm, maybe. And down she goes!" he swiftly knocked her onto the mat. 

"I'm never finished." Kagome said and tripped him so that he lay on the floor next to her. "Since I obviously can't take you for punches, I guess I'll have to get original." She rolled over and began to swiftly tickle him, running her hands over every possible sensitive spot she could reach. Tears rolled down his face as his sides cramped up from laughing.

"Please...stop! Ka..Kagome! You're..you're k-killing me!" InuYasha gasped in between laughing.

"I guess learning how to torture a little brother paid off!"

"Wha- what can I..do to...to make you stop?"

"Hmm...let me think..."

"Take your..time!"

"Apologize to me for calling tae-bo sissy boxing."

"Done! So-rry! Sorry!"

"And one more thing!"

"Any..anything!"

Sango and Miroku watched with baited breath to see what she'd do next. InuYasha looked ready to die. His face was turning red and was covered in tears and his laughs were turning into gasps.

"How much you want to bet she doesn't stop 'til he wets his pants?" Miroku muttered. Sango giggled. It seemed like something Kagome would do.

"Okay! I have my second condition! You owe me one favor, redeemable at any time!"

"Fine! Now get off! Please!" he gasped. Kagome stopped her torture and ruffled his hair. 

"I guess. Now you'll think twice when you flip me like that." Kagome walked out of the gym to take a shower, leaving InuYasha to lay on the floor and recover from the attack.

~_~

Sango rolled quietly out of bed. She was sore from the previous day's activates and needed to do something stress relieving. She got up and dressed in a pair of shorts and an old t-shirt. A walk on the beach would do just fine. She forsook her shoes in favor of feeling the sand between her toes and left the house. The beach was just in their back yard, making the mansion almost perfect. The tide washed upon the sand quietly. There weren't any tourists or beach bums out yet, allowing her some time with nothing but her thoughts.

'I wish I knew what Miroku thought of me. He treats all women the same, grope, will you bear my child, how you doin', it was always the same. I think I love him, but he's always so indifferent. I'm just a friend and nothing more. Maybe I should give it up and find some other guy to go head over heels with. No, I could never let him go, even if he is a total lech at times. He can be really nice though, and thoughtful. Like that one time he brought me flowers and a movie when I was sick and then watched the movie with me. I just don't know what to do.' Sango sighed and wandered out into the salty water. She splashed through the little waves until a sharp blinding pain shot through her foot.

"Dammit!" She screamed and fell into the sand. Her foot was already turning a strange pinkish red. "Stupid jellyfish." She moaned and tried to stand up. The pain made her vision blur, but finally she got up the nerve to withstand it. Sango hobbled slowly back to the mansion, the pain growing with every step. She half crawled to the back door that opened into the kitchen. She got up the will to stand and pounded on the door. 

Miroku's face popped out of the door and took in Sango's state. "What happened?"

"A jellyfish stung my foot and it really hurts! Can you help me?" Sango pleaded. Miroku opened the door all the way and scooped her up into his arms. He carried her carefully to the living room and deposited her on the couch. He found a foot stool and propped up her foot then took off for supplies.

Miroku returned with a wash cloth, a basin filled with warm water, allergy cream, bandages and meat tenderizer. He sat down on the stool and placed her red foot in his lap gently.

"May I ask why you have the spices? Planning to eat my foot after you cut it off?"

"No, it makes the sting feel better. Trust me." Miroku said as he began to wash the salt water and sand off of her foot. He carefully applied the meat tenderizer to the area then placed some allergy cream over it. After he finished with the cream, he bandaged her foot and stood up. Miroku began to clean up the mess and returned with a glass of coke and an ice pack.

"I thought you might be thirsty after hopping your way up the entire beach and then up the lawn to the door." he explained. His violet eyes locked with and he leaned down to swiftly kiss her on the lips. Sango merely sat there in shock as he pulled away. "Sorry." he muttered and began to walk away. Miroku had kissed her and she hadn't done anything?! He must have thought she was some kind of emotionless freak! He must have thought she was Sesshomaru! 

"Miroku!" She called after him He stopped in the door way and turned around, hanging his head shamefully. 

"Yeah?"

"I would do the whole run to catch up with the guy and try it again thing, but my feet are kind of out of commission right now. If you want to try again you'd have to come to me. I'd like to try again if you don't mind." She added as an after thought, blushing furiously.

"You weren't angry? But why didn't you do anything?" Miroku asked densely.

"You really, really, reeeaallly caught me off guard. It's not every day that someone doctors your wounds and then kisses you. At least, not everyday in the real world. The movies are a different story." Sango smiled at him and shrugged.

"You sure?"

"Why would I be offering?"

Miroku walked back over and sat down next to her on the couch. He leaned and gently kissed her. Sango actually responded this time, her lips pressing passionately against his. She locked her arms around his neck, closing whatever space that was left between them. Finally they came up for air, gasping.

"Much, much better." Sango sighed. Miroku wrapped his arms around her, holding her against his chest. Sango leaned back happily, despite the fact that her foot was still burning.

"And to think that when I was walking on the beach I was worried that I would never have you." she muttered into his chest. He rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes.

"You were worried about me? I'm touched, really."

"Been worried for a long time. You like so many women and there's only one of me."

"That's because I thought you'd never see me as anything but the lecherous drummer and your house mate. And one of you is far more than enough when you up and hit me."

"We're both very dumb and need to accept that." Sango wrapped her arms around his waist and lay there contentedly. She silently thanked that jellyfish that stung her since it had brought them together. The pain was sufferable.

~_~

Sango loped up to her bedroom, a sloppy grin plastered to her face. They had watched a movie, ate lunch together and indulged in more than a few kisses. She threw open the door to Kagome's room and lay down next to her on the bed. Kagome looked up from her reading and thrust the book under her pillow.

"What's got you looking so wrecked? Are you okay? Sango? Earth to Sango!" Kagome called as her friend drifted off into space.

"He likes me. He really, really, really likes me."

"Who? Miroku?"

"Oooh, Miroku. Miroku, Miroku." Sango looked as if she had floated out of her body. "Kami bless all jellyfish, for they bring people together. In veeery good ways." Sango sighed. Kagome was beginning to worry. Sango was never this drifty. She looked her over carefully before noticing a smudge of lip-gloss across her mouth.

"He kiss you? Your lip-gloss is everywhere if not."

"Oh yeah...god said let there be love and it was good."

"I don't think that's a real verse. Do tell though."

"What is there to say? He kissed me! And what book was that?" Sango reached for the novel and found her hand being smacked away ferociously. After a small struggle she wrestled the book form Kagome's grasp. "Master of the Night? Kagome, you read smut?"

"Shut up! I stole it from your room! I just wanted to see what was so great about them!"

"Have you gotten to chapter three yet?"

"No! Don't ruin it! Now describe the kiss! Why'd he'd do it? What was going on?"

Sango launched into a description of what had happened, Kagome sighing at all the right points. It sounded absolutely romantic to her. Kagome inwardly wished she had someone to kiss her. She accidentally allowed that thought to slip from her brain and out of her mouth. Sango looked smug.

"Bet I know who you wish would kiss you." She smirked as Kagome threw a pillow at her. "You know he likes you a lot. He'd definitely be willing to do that with you."

"How do you know?"

"Miroku told me. At the same time you were talking to me, InuYasha was talking to him about the same thing. Now all you need to do is wait for slowness to make or a move, or for an opportune moment to make one yourself." Kagome groaned loudly. 

"And when would we find time to do that? We're always all together and he seems a little shy about doing anything romantic. Maybe because of Kikyo, huh?"

"Probably. Me and Miroku are going out on an official date this weekend. Maybe you and InuYasha could get to know one another. Talk or something. It's an idea." Sango shrugged at Kagome's stoic look and rolled over onto her back. "I think Miroku's the one. Maybe his lechery will...improve, I think is the word."

"Yeah, right. He'll just be more inclined to be lechy towards you. Ah, think of the gropes he'll lay on you! You'll be attached hand to bum!" Sango looked distraught at the sheer idea of that happening. "I was kidding! Kidding! I think he'll get better. Just don't worry about it. I'm the one that needs to worry." Kagome slid the book back under her pillow and got off her bed. 

"Where you going?"

"To wander aimlessly and think about how romantically challenged I am."

~_~

Kagome ended up back on the boys' floor. She walked down the hall, looking for nothing in particular until she noticed a new door was open. It was usually locked up tight. She'd tried to enter before and found the industrial dead bolt did its job very well. She poked her head in the doorway and peered in.

InuYasha sat in the middle of a fair sized room at a large desk, guitar and polish in hand. The entire room was filled with guitars, some new some vintage. Many were signed by a previous famous owner. He had what looked like an older one in his lap, polishing away fervently. His long, white hair was tied back to keep it away from his face, sleeves rolled up exposing strong biceps. He looked lean but was actually packed with muscle.

"I've never seen a collection this big." Kagome said quietly. InuYasha swiveled around on his stool to face her. 

"It's a hobby. Want to come in and look around?" Kagome took him up on the invite, figuring it might be the only time he would extend such a courtesy. "I've been collecting since I was about thirteen and decided to become a star if it killed me. I'm still alive, so I guess I achieved my goal." He shrugged and grinned before returning to his work.

"Heard the news?"

"Miroku's a little bit of a lech and just got to a higher level of romance so why would he hold it in?"

"True." Kagome looked around the room as an awkward silence began. 

"Um, you can take some down and look at them if you want." InuYasha choked on his own words as he began polishing even harder than before. Kagome's mere presence drove him insane lately and the feeling was getting stronger as the seconds ticked by.

"Where did you get them all?" She attempted to make small talk, trying desperately to ignore the flips her heart was doing in her chest.

"Online auctions, flea markets, dealers, even guitar shops. You can get any instrument for a good price if you look around a bit. You only have that one guitar, right?"

"Yeah. I worked hard to earn enough money for it. There's one I've been looking at the guitar place for months, but there isn't a chance I could ever afford it."

"Which one?"

"You know, the sea foam green one, white pick guard."

"The signature series one." An idea formed in his mind as he polished even harder. Suddenly the entire bottle of liquid spilled onto his shirt. He let out a string of curses that would have seared a sailor's ears as he threw off the now ruined article of clothing. Kagome's eyes widened at the sight of him shirtless and she began to stare. He was built like an athlete, six pack and all. 

'He must work out a lot.' she though before noticing she was still looking at him. She blushed madly and turned her eyes away. "I-I need to eat something. Later." she said and fled the room. InuYasha looked up, not hearing a thing she said and saw that she had gone.

~_~

Review Replies! (haha, my computer hates all of your screen-names. It capitalizes them and tries to tell me they're all spelled wrong! Nad it hates the tickling scene! It tries so hard to tell me it's all wrong. Anyways…)

Does it REALLY Matter: Thanks! Kagome and InuYasha haven't known each other as long as Sango and Miroku, so they'll be a while. Quite a few more chapters. 

Jonathold: *blushes insanely* Your fav? No way! You're kidding! I know you have to be! I think I've heard some of MC5's songs, I usually forget the names of most bands. I'm just, "Oh that's that song! By those guys!" I know, world peace and cocaine do not mix. No, I never get to hear Howard Stern. They only play him on the radio here at 5 am and then he's on tv at like, 4 am and NO CHANCE of me being up at those times. You're taking german? Cool, I have a german friend. In the news paper they'd advertised these german things as muffins, but when I showed her the word she said that it wasn't muffins, it was snails. Blech.

Scottiedog: Are you trying to kill me? More cookie dough? If I eat cookie dough I'll get sick again!  But thanks for the review!

Anubaka: You play bass? Kick ass. I play a little guitar myself. I'd love to play bass though! I think I did okay with the instrument matches, I just did what I thought worked.

TheOneAndOnlyPeach: You guys make me blush so much! I didn't think I was that good…

Blackcat92: Kikyo? *laughs nefariously* Oh yes! She can't be gone! Wuhahahahaha!

Punkprincess666: Thanks!

Kirei-kitsune13: I feel much better! Thanks!

LadyCatBailey: I feel so loved! I send you hugs. Did you ever get the novel back? Did you finish it? What was it about? Email me about it if you want.  That rooster sounds scary! Glad you got the eat the sucker. Hooray for hick-iness! I think we're all a little perverted at times. Just read the quote of the day. ^_~ 

Shaeya Sedjet: Thanks! I love Simon too, he's the best! I just couldn't help having InuYasha make Simon like remarks! Simon rocks. He's tells it like it is.

Someone: Penguins kick much butt! Thanks!

Sparrow of the Damned: Thanks! Here's the update!

BlueDragonBoarder: Thanks! Inu/Kag rocks! I like San/Mir too, but Inu/Kag forever.

TRunK-loVEr: Aww! As always? *blush*

Foxshadow: You got my email, so you got your reply early! Thanks again!

Anonymus_girl1_: Don't go crazy! Here ye be!

~_~

Quote of the Day!

"If you have a dirty mind, you'll see dirty things. Obviously we are very perverse." Me, talking about a joke t-shirt and where to wear it.

Here's another 'cause I can't resist.

"…some people take the manhood out of the frog on accident. They're not going to jump out and say 'here are the testes!'" My science teacher. (we're dissecting frogs)


	7. A Night In

……………………………………..

"Bye Kagome! Have fun with Sir Eats a Lot. We'll be back around ten or so if we don't get caught up doing something" Sango said using her new nickname for InuYasha. He merely feh'd at the statement and returned to eating his popcorn. Kagome waved as the new couple walked out the front door and into the limo. InuYasha stood up and began to leave.

"Where you going?" Kagome asked. He was leaving his popcorn behind, not a good sign. He usually took his food everywhere unless he was going to leave the house.

"To take a shower. You can have the popcorn since I can't exactly take it with me. If I was taking a bath, that'd be a different story, but my baths take a long time and I thought you'd probably want to do something, ne?" He handed her the bowl and walked off. It was empty except for a small hand full, much to Kagome's dismay. She ate the leftovers anyways, figuring if InuYasha shared food it was worth eating.

After about fifteen minutes InuYasha returned in his usual boxers and t-shirt, a towel on his head. Kagome snorted so hard she nearly sprayed coke out of her nose.

"What?" InuYasha asked, completely bewildered at what could be so funny.

"Nothing. You just look like the Sultan of Arabia with that turban going on there. Gonna have to start calling you Saladin if you keep it up." Kagome grinned at him while he pouted.

"I was going to dry it off."

"Riiight. Next thing I know you'll be wearing a facial mask and have cucumbers on your eyes." He scowled and bent over, allowing his hair to flop over his head. He toweled it dry quickly and threw the soaked towel at Kagome. His hair was furled and tangled terribly and her fingers immediately began to itch to fix it.

"You want something?"

She couldn't hold it in. Kagome just couldn't stand seeing his beautiful hair wrecked like that. She allowed her girly intuition to take over and finally asked. "Can I please, please, please do something with your hair? Just brush it or something? It's driving me crazy!" InuYasha sighed. Was he actually going to let this girl up and play with his hair like they were in preschool?

"Whatever you want." Guess so. Kagome shot off down the hall and up the stairs to her room and gathered some supplies. After grabbing a brush, comb and a hair dryer she returned.

"Sit in front of me on the floor." He complied quietly and took off his shirt. Kagome gave him a strange look as he threw the top on the floor.

"My hair is wet so if you take it down and brush on it, my shirt will get wet. If I take off the shirt then all I have to do is dry off my back." InuYasha said sensibly. Kagome plugged in the hair dryer and sat down behind him on the couch. She ran the comb through his hair to get out the tangles and he slowly relaxed. No one had done his hair since his mother died and before then she had been the only one allowed to touch it. Kagome began to comb out another section and he leaned back, perfectly content. She smiled and turned on the dryer.

'This isn't so bad. it actually feels good.' InuYasha thought to himself as Kagome gave his hair a total overhaul. She finally finished and ran her fingers through his bangs to stop at his ears. 'Pet them, pet them!' he mentally commanded.

'Should I? They're just so cute and fuzzy. Maybe he won't be angry if I just do one...' Kagome massaged one dog ear near the base, smiling happily as he sighed. InuYasha rested his head on her knees and pushed against her hand, trying to encourage her to pet more. She started to pet both ears at once when she noticed a strange sound emitting from somewhere below her. It sounded almost like a purr. Kagome rubbed a little harder and listened. The sound got louder the more she rubbed.

"That is so cute!" She gasped, then clapped a hand over her mouth. had she just said that out loud? InuYasha's eyes snapped open. He had been halfway to the point of sleep when she made her sudden exclamation.

'She thinks I'm cute?' he wondered. InuYasha just pushed his head against her knees. Kagome took the message and began to rub his ears again.

'Guess he doesn't mind.' Kagome pet him until she thought her fingers were numb and was going to get up when she heard a different sound. He was snoring. It wasn't loud, just a small, quiet sound, enough to let her know he had fallen asleep. Kagome listened to him for a while and then gently moved his head so that it rested on the couch instead of her legs. She slipped out to the kitchen, or what she hoped was the kitchen. She had never been there before since they either ate out or had there meals waiting for them. Miroku had warned her that the cook was a little...senile and to be careful not to annoy him. Kagome gulped and pushed the door open and stepped in the kitchen.

"Yes? What do you want?" An old man with bulging eyes and a ratty ponytail on the top of his head was bustling about, all alone since it was late and the four were usually out and about.

"Umm...are you the cook?" Kagome asked tentatively as she watched him go through the fridge like he was insane.

"Yes, I'm Totosai. What can I do for you?" He threw a pack of lunch meat into the garbage, along with a half eaten sandwich. "The things InuYasha puts in here. If he's going to haunt the kitchen, he needs to learn some organization skills! You don't put sandwiches into the fridge either! Where is that garbage disposal anyhow?" Kagome couldn't help but giggle. That was InuYasha.

"Sir Eats a Lot is out in the living room, but he's more like Sir Sleeps a Lot right now. He passed out against the couch."

"Figures. If he's not eating, he's making noise and if he's not making noise, he's sleeping. Him and those damn guitars keeping an old man up all night! He should be horse whipped." Totosai grumbled and tossed a half empty glass into the sink. Kagome remained rooted to her spot in the door way. "You wanted something, or just come to bother a crazy old man?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what kind of snacks were around here."

"The pantry is that way. If you want something, help yourself. InuYasha does all the time. That boy!" Totosai threw another sandwich into the trash with a grunt. Kagome shuffled off to the pantry. She walked inside to find it was huge, and filled with more food than a grocery store. A variety of choices presented themselves, from chips and dip to instant ramen to pocky. She couldn't decide. Maybe Totosai would make her something.

"Would you care to do something gastronomic for me, or is it serve yourself tonight?' Kagome asked. Totosai sighed.

"I'll make you something that InuYasha is always begging for and I think you'll like. Just be patient." Totosai said and whipped out some brownies, ice cream and toppings. After a few minutes he had created two brownie a la mode sundaes, complete with whipped cream and cherries on top. "Take this one to the king and tell him to never put anything in the fridge again." Totosai handed Kagome the desserts and she left for the living room. Totosai waited until she was out of earshot and muttered "She really is as sweet as he says. Hopefully the boy will get her to like him because she'd make him a good match."

Kagome balanced the plates as she grabbed a deck of cards and a movie. She arrived in the room where InuYasha was still napping and sat down her haul. He looked terribly peaceful, but by the time he woke up the ice cream would have melted.

"InuYasha, wake up." Kagome shook his shoulder lightly in a futile attempt to wake him. He barely moved or responded. "It was so easy last time. Beginners luck, I guess. InuYasha. Up!" He just continued snoring softly as if nothing had happened. Kagome leaned down next to his ear and called his name again. InuYasha's eyes finally snapped open.

"Hey! Treats!" He grabbed a bowl of ice cream and began to eat.

"You and your demon stomach." Kagome shook her head as she watched him inhale the dessert. He had finished before she had even taken three bites. It had only been about two hours since Sango and Miroku left and they had plenty of time to go. Kagome decided to ask a question she'd been wondering about since she first saw him. "What type of hair dye do you use?"

InuYasha looked shocked at the idea of even touching a bottle of the stuff. "I don't use dye."

"But your hair is white."

"It's natural. Sesshomaru's is white too. My father's was and so was my mother's. We were a snowy haired family. Kinda scary to most normal people, but it makes for an interesting look. What movie you got there?" He picked up the dvd box and turned it over to read the back.

"I brought it with me from home. It's called Tomb Raider. Has a lot of guns and a girl running around shooting stuff. I think you'll like it." She got up, took the dvd from him and slid it into the player. She settled back onto the couch with InuYasha to watch the movie.

……………………………………..

"Two fours."

"Bull shit."

"Damn." Kagome picked up a huge pile of cards. They'd been playing bs for over an hour now and had played Egyptian rat screw for over an hour before that. The movie was done and Sango and Miroku still weren't home.

"Three fives."

"Bull."

"Nope! You get those too!" InuYasha said cheerfully. He was winning their little tournament by a mile.

"Oh screw it. You only have three cards left and I don't want lose again. I give. You are the Grand High Bull Shitter. Congratulations! You're so full of it, I'm surprised your eyes aren't brown. Let's watch some tv. There has to be something on." Kagome jumped up onto the couch and flicked on the telly. InuYasha climbed up next to her as she began the ruthless task of channel surfing. "Gimme the channel guide." InuYasha grabbed the paper but held it up out of Kagome's reach.

"Say please!"

"Okay. Please." Kagome said sarcastically.

"You didn't mean it. Let's try it one more time with feeling."

"Sor-ry!"

"Testy aren't we?"

"Just give me it, you butt munch!"

"Butt munch?" Kagome lunged for the guide and ended up knocking InuYasha backwards and straddling his waist. She began to reach for the paper again when she noticed that InuYasha was still shirtless and they were a very compromising position. InuYasha blushed and didn't move. His hands had ended up on her hips.

"Give me!" Kagome cried. He moved his hands up her sides and began tickling her furiously. She began laughing as he swiftly moved his hands up and down her ribs.

"See? Pay back's a pain. Shouldn't have tickled me! Karma comes back to bite you!" InuYasha said over her giggling. He stopped and gave her the tv guide. "Here." Kagome rolled off of him and began looking through the guide.

"What do you-" she began to ask him a question before he tilted his face and began to lean in. She moved her face towards his, heart racing. The clock struck one am as Sango and Miroku burst through the door right before their lips met.

"Dammit." InuYasha cursed as they both jumped back. Sango and Miroku were giggling madly; obviously they'd had a good time. "Have fun?"

"Like you wouldn't believe! We got the weirdest waiter!" Sango gasped and began to describe their evening. Kagome snuck off to her room, wondering what had just happened.

'Did InuYasha almost kiss me? I wish we hadn't been interrupted. At least then I would have known what he thought of me. If he was going to kiss me I guess he must like me in that way. It's all just so confusing.' she crawled into her bed and fell asleep.

……………………………………..

Kagome's eyes fluttered open as she woke up. 'Another day. And so it begins.' she thought as she stood up and stretched. She turned around to head off into the bathroom when she saw a new object had been moved into her room. The guitar she had wanted so badly was sitting in a little back stand with a personalized case next to it. A card had been placed underneath the strings and Kagome pulled it out to read it.

_You said you wanted this guitar and I want you to have it. After all, a musician has to have more than one instrument if they're in a band don't they? Hope you like it and will be able to make some good sounds with it._

_A not-so-secret admirer_

_ps- the case will fit either of your guitars, in case you were wondering. I have one just like it. And I hope I spelled your name right._

Kagome laughed and looked over at the case. Kagome Higurashi had been embroidered on it in silver gothic letters. It was a perfect gift. She ran the down the stairs in her pajamas and into InuYasha's room without knocking. Kagome ran over to his bed and jumped on it, hugging him fiercely.

"Thank you so much! I love it!" She gushed as he woke with a start. He sighed happily as he realized who was on top of him.

"Glad you do. I spelled it right, didn't I? Higurashi is a tough one when you're shopping at an ungodly hour. Anything before noon is not my thing." InuYasha said and hugged her back.

"You got it perfect! I'm going to go get dressed now before I try playing it! Thank you! Thank you!" Kagome squeezed him one more time. InuYasha leaned back into his pillows.

'She's so happy. Might have to give her stuff more often if it means hugs like that.' he thought and rolled out of bed. That had definitely been the best wake up of his life.

……………………………………..

"Sango! Look what I got!" Kagome had gotten dressed and was beating on Sango's door. The sleepy girl answered it and peered at Kagome. "Look what InuYasha bought me!" She held out the guitar. Sango whistled as she looked it over.

"Wow...this thing had to cost about five hundred dollars...he's never, ever spent that much money on anyone besides himself. Even when he and Kikyo were together the most expensive thing he bought her was less than fifty bucks. And this is the first thing he's given you too. Kami, I can't even imagine what he'll get you next. He's so head over heels it's not funny." Sango handed the instrument back.

"He almost kissed me last night." Kagome muttered shyly. Sango's jaw dropped.

"No way! What happened?"

"You guys walked in and scared him off. I hope he'll try again..." Kagome sighed as she held her new prize. Sango pat her reassuringly on the shoulder and left to get dressed. She carried her guitar outside to the balcony and sat down. She decided to play it some even though it wouldn't sound right without the amplifier. She settled onto the edge of the chair and stared out to the sea for a few moments. It looked so perfectly calm today. She inhaled the scent of the salty water deeply, enjoying the pleasant odor. She strummed the strings with the pick she always carried in her pocket and began to play.

InuYasha wandered aimlessly out onto his balcony. The sounds of someone playing a guitar without an amp came from somewhere above him, as did the sound of a melodic voice. Kagome was singing her heart out right above him. He walked out to the edge of the balcony and looked up. His balcony jutted out farther than hers, giving him a full view of Kagome.

"_And if I fall asleep,_

_And have a bad dream,_

_Will you hold me all through the night,_

_and__ tell me everything will be all right?_

_Maybe some day I'll be your life,_

_And I'll have you as mine for the rest of my life._

_Wouldn't that be perfect?_

_Wouldn't that be nice?_

_Wouldn't that just seem so right?"_

He listened quietly as she finished singing. She had the voice of an angel, right on pitch and pleasing to the ear.

"Hello up there!" InuYasha called. Kagome peered down to see him leaning against the railing. "Mind if I come up?"

"Sure! I'll wait for you! Let me open my door." Kagome yelled back.

"No need!" InuYasha stood up on the railing and made a giant leap to land right in front of Kagome. "Ta daa!" he held his arms out like a circus performer. "Is that all of that song? It was really good."

Kagome blushed furiously. She had made it up on the spot as she thought of InuYasha. It had just seemed right and worked. "I could write some more if you wanted me to. I just made it up, even the guitar part. Would've been better with the amp, ne?"

"No, I like it acoustic. We could do an entire acoustic song for the album with that if you want. You could even sing it." He suggested, excitement growing in his eyes.

"I'll try to make up more to it if you'll write the instrumental parts. I don't know how to work with anything but guitars. How did you jump that high?"

"Just comes natural. It's nice out today. Maybe we could try out the pool?" InuYasha put his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulder.

"That sounds great! I'll get changed and hustle Sango up. Let me go put my baby away." She said, indicating her guitar. InuYasha laughed and jumped back down to his balcony, then made the hop to Miroku's.

"Oi! Hentai!"

……………………………………..

InuYasha lay on the lawn chair next to the pool on his back. His sunglasses covered his amber eyes and he had tied his hair back. After smearing some sun tan oil on his chest he had settled back for a quick nap until the girls came. Miroku had jumped into the pool already and was swimming around slowly.

Sango and Kagome thundered down the stairs to the pool, both of them dressed in tiny bikinis. Sango's was pink, Kagome's black. Both of them had pulled their hair into ponytails and wore sunglasses. Miroku gaped when they stepped out onto the ivory tiled area that surrounded the pool. Sango sat down their towels and dove into the pool, doing a perfect flip. Kagome picked up InuYasha's sun tan oil and stood over him.

"Yes, oh great sun blocker?" he muttered lazily and took a sip of his slushy.

"Could you do me a favor and put some of this on my back? I can't reach."

InuYasha moved over so Kagome could sit at the foot of his chair as he uncapped the oil. Kagome waited while he gently rubbed the oil onto her back. His claws barely even scraped her skin, amazing her. He wiped his hands dry on his swim trunks as she stood up.

"Thanks." Kagome said before jumping into the cool water. She and Sango raced a few times, splashed Miroku until he was water logged, and had a diving contest. Sango swan over to the stairs and sat down.

"You know what I haven't down in forever?" she asked.

"What?" Kagome remarked from the other end of the pool.

"Had a chicken fight! I think we should have one."

"I agree! You and Miroku against InuYasha and me?"

"As long as he doesn't grope me, that's fine! All you have to do is wake up InuYasha." Sango grinned, knowing Kagome would come up with something original. Kagome smiled in response and climbed out of the pool the stopped next to InuYasha's chair. She though quietly for a few seconds and smirked evilly as she came up with an idea. Kagome picked up Miroku's empty slushy cup and filled it to the top with pool water, walked back over to InuYasha and dumped the entire cup of chlorine water over his head. He sputtered furiously and jumped up, clearly in shock.

"What the hell was that for, wench?" InuYasha gasped as he pulled off his sunglasses.

"We want to have a chicken fight, but I need some one to hold me up. Would you care to do the honors?" Kagome smiled innocently. "Or would you rather shake off first?" InuYasha growled and jumped into the pool, making a huge splash. Kagome shrieked as she got hit with a wave of water. She jumped in after him and waited to be picked up, but InuYasha had disappeared.

"Where'd he-aiee!" she was raised into the air by a strong pair of shoulders. InuYasha had snuck up under her and then stood up as fast as he could. Kagome grabbed the first thing she could reach, which turned out to be his ears.

"Pet them or let go; that kind of hurts. You have kung-fu grip when you want." InuYasha purred contently as she chose the former. Kagome laughed and let go as he grabbed her legs. His hands were rough and callused from years of playing the guitar. Sango climbed up onto Miroku's shoulders and waited while he waded over to their opponents.

"Okay! The rules are no biting or clawing, but pretty much anything else goes. First one to fall off loses." Miroku stated and then whistled, beginning the match. Sango lunged dangerously but Kagome easily dodged the attack. InuYasha had a firm grip on her legs; there was no way they would lose. Kagome reached and grabbed Sango by the arm, trying to wrench her off Miroku's shoulders to no avail. Sango pulled out of her grip and the boys began to circle.

After a long, drawn out fight Kagome finally succeeded in pushing Sango off Miroku. She landed in the water with a splash while Kagome and InuYasha were pronounced the winners. InuYasha waded down to the deep end of the pool, much to Kagome's wonder. He took a deep breath, then plunged under the water. He rose back up almost as quickly as he went down, but he still had thoroughly soaked her.

"You're terrible." Kagome scowled and tugged a lock of his hair.

"Pay back is rough here and you shouldn't have soaked me. Now I'm going to have to dump you since my shoulders are aching, madame buns of steel." InuYasha put his hands under her feet and flipped her off his back. Kagome puttered after she surfaced and watched him swim back to the other end of the pool to talk to Miroku. Sango had gotten out and was laying out on a lawn chair. Kagome followed suit after quickly drying off.

"How's it going with Kagome?" Miroku asked quietly as he and InuYasha sat on the steps. InuYasha sighed and hunched over.

"Fine I guess, if you want to call it that."

"Oh? What's the matter?"

"I was going to make a move when you and Sango traipsed into the house and shocked us both. Now I don't know what to do to get there again. How about you and Sango?"

"Very well actually. We're planning on going out again sometime this week." Miroku began to tell InuYasha the details about a game he had bought. InuYasha smacked his head as he remembered he had never dropped that game off for Souta. He made a mental note to do so tomorrow and looked over at Kagome. She was laying quietly in the sun looking like some kind of sun bathing goddess. He needed to do something soon before some other jerk swooped in on her.

After an hour or two InuYasha climbed out of the pool and moved over next to Kagome's chair. "You ready go in?" Kagome flinched as a drop of water slid off his hair and onto her face.

"Yeah. Get let me get my things together. Are Sango and Miroku coming in too?"

"Yup. Oh and Kagome,"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'll dry off first." InuYasha shook off like a dog, spraying water all over Kagome. She screamed happily as the water flew everywhere.

"You mangy mutt. Now I'm all wet again!" She poked him in the shoulder and dripped into the house.

……………………………………..

Oooh, so close on the kiss!

Okay! I've had several people ask and here's the answer: It will take a lot of physical pain to get Kagome and InuYasha together. Oh, and a couple of chapters. But there will be some fluff of them together soon. No kissing or intentional cuddling, just some slightly fluff like stuff.

Review Replies!

Animepeep: Shut up, Captain! I know your nickname and can reveal it to the world! I keep forgetting about it. My school actually gives homework, ya know. And I have too responded to your reviews! Teel Rex he'd better love me for this damn shirt! I'm afraid it's harder than it looks to make the stupid thing.

Inu/Kag Fan: I'm gifted? blush

Unknown: Yes! I gotta need! A need for speed! And your answer is above.

Kikyo-haters2004- yum! And I love your name.

Shyn: Aw, thanks! I do my best.

Fallingmiko: Ouch. I hate, hate, HATE the dentist, so I feel for you. I have braces so I'm in almost constant pain. I'll have to read your fic soon. Gimme a couple of days to get my act together. Hmmmm….I've never co-written before….

Hiei81- Thanks!

HanyouSweety: wipes up drool Oh yeah…very hot. I believe he gets shirtless again too.

Shadowseerer795: I thought about that for three days straight andI can't figure it out! I guess it just fell out of my head. Answer above to Inu/Kag thing.

Yashagurl2003: Thanks!

Ringwraith31589: Thanks! I try to update fast.

Crystal: Oh yes, shirtless Inu is very good. I have a pic of him shirtless that I'm gonna hang on my wall.

Bloodbunny: Here's your update! And thanks!

Wolf: Thank kami? Wow, these comments get more and more extreme! You guys make me feel so good!

Katsumi Leostar: I know she's weird. That's why she's quotable!

Jonathold: I't s always so fun to reply to your reviews. And read them. I see about the German class thing. I'd think it'd be neat to learn German, but I'd rather learn Japanese. I'm going to London this summer so I'll actually get to see the bobby cops and their whacking sticks. Maybe I should try to aggravate one of the palace guards into cracking a smile. I know plenty of jokes (quite a few are kinda dirty, but really funny). Awp! Cool that thing down! Hurry! Before it melts or something! My computer got so hot it shut down.

Foxshadow: I can't wait to see your favorite line for this chapter. I like the part about playing bs since that happened to me. We stayed up till 4 am playing! Then again I also like the part with the ear rub. And the part with chicken fight. And the guitar. Crap, I just like it all.

BlackCat92: Don't worry, she'll get her just desserts in the end. She'll go to a place she'll consider hell….

TheOneAndOnlyPeach: One tough couple to go….

Qoute of the Day!

"This yard is nothing but a cluster fk." My gran talking about our yard. It's how she refers to messes.

Snippet: (just cause I feel like it)

"If you were related to her then you couldn't make out or anything like that. Well, you could but it'd be really wrong."- not telling! But the most unlikely character plays Dr. Love for InuYasha!

One last thing: There's supposed to be little things that space off one section of the story from antoher. If they aren't showing up, put something in your review so I can fix it.


	8. Dr Love

Serinitay- Sorry! I was trying to replace the chapter 7 and it accidentally replaced chapter 1! Please go back and reread it! I fixed it as soon as I saw your review! Thanks for alerting me!

Sango and Kagome had both taken their baths when Sango came up with an evil idea. When people get bored they tend to do the oddest things and this was one of those times.

"You know, Miroku's in the shower and he never locks the door, plus he takes forever to wash." Sango looked over at Kagome, who was currently involved in reading the novel she'd stolen from Sango.

"And, your point?"

"Listen to this.." Kagome leaned over while Sango whispered her plan. Her eyes lit up and she raced for the door.

"Let's go!"

The two girls raced down stairs to the bathroom Miroku was using and Sango turned the handle of the door. The entire room was fogged up with steam, but Sango quickly found where Miroku had left his clothing and towels. She stole the pile and replaced it with a small pink nightie she had bought just for kicks. Kagome giggled as they began to sneak back out but both of them stopped when they heard a strange sound coming from the shower.

"I'm just girl little ol me, so don't let me out of your sights! I'm just a girl, all pretty and petite so don't let me have any rights!" Miroku was singing in the shower. Both girls' eyes widened as they tried desperately not to laugh. The snuck out of the room, ran down the hall and burst out laughing.

"Sango, where have all the men in this world gone?" Kagome asked as she shook with laughter.

"I dunno, but they obviously aren't in Miroku's shower!" Sango gasped in reply. The two went to sit in the boys' hall and wait for the action. Kagome had brought a little camera with her to capture the excitement on film. The shower was turned off and a scream was heard. "Like it Miroku? We're waiting for a fashion show!" Sango called as InuYasha walked out into the hallway to see what the commotion was about. Miroku cursed loud enough for them to hear and opened the door.

"Holy shit!" InuYasha doubled over when he saw the dark haired teen come out in a pink negligee. Miroku blushed furiously as he stood in the hall. Kagome snapped several pictures before throwing him his clothes.

"That was great! Your face! Miroku, you make a lovely woman, I have to say. Pink is definitely your color. We all know you're 'just a girl'." Kagome hinted to him on what they had heard and he blushed even harder before racing back into the bathroom to get dressed.

"Why did you two do that?" InuYasha asked the two mischief makers.

"We were bored. I think we've had plenty of excitement now though. I'm heading off to read some more." Kagome grinned and left for her room, Sango trailing behind. InuYasha silently hoped that he wouldn't be their next victim and went back to his room to do some video game playing.

……………………………………..

The day had flown by as Kagome read more and more of her book. She found it was nearing eight and went down to the living room to see what the guys were up to. One black and one white head poked up over the top of the couch, just as she had suspected. Kagome called to them, but neither moved. She walked around to stand in front of the couch.

"What are you guys..." She stopped midsentence when she saw what they had been up to. InuYasha and Miroku both had green facials on, cucumbers over their eyes just as she had joked that one time. "WHERE HAVE ALL THE MEN GONE?" Kagome screamed as InuYasha pulled off his cucumbers.

"We're right here! What do you want? And why are you screaming?" He asked densely.

"I'm not sure if you're men or not. I was just joking about that facial thing, you know and I'm screaming from shock, captain obvious. Do you do this regularly?" Kagome was actually interested in what they were doing. She'd never had a facial before.

"Not all the time, but it helps keep your face clean after doing all of those concerts and sweating your ass off on stage. Here." InuYasha tossed her the bottle of cream and two cucumbers. "Just put that over your face and stick on the cucumbers." He leaned back into the couch as he waited for his mask to dry. Kagome put on the green substance then placed the cucumbers on her eyes and lay back.

"Hey, this isn't that bad."

"See? It's unisex." InuYasha muttered as the stuff dried and tightened.

"That I do." Miroku murmured, totally missing what InuYasha had said.

"You need what?" Kagome asked Miroku.

"Hmm? What did InuYasha say?"

"He said it's unisex. What did you think he said?" Kagome finally computed what he had misheard and resisted the urge to slap him. "You lech."

"Both of you shut up and let these things dry! They don't work if they're all cracked from running your mouth." The three of them sat in silence and listened to the tv.

Sango bounded down the steps trying to find Kagome. 'Where the guys are she is if she isn't with me.' she jumped the last step and saw them sitting on the couch. "Hey, what's up? No one responded to her question and she decided to walk in front of the tv. Maybe that would get their attention. "Where'd the other two girls come from Kagome?' Sango didn't recognize either boy in their masks.

"Don't bother us or the masks will crack!" InuYasha hissed, making Sango jump as she finally figured out who was sitting on the couch.

"What in the world? Why? Why?!" Sango gasped. "I've never seen you two do this before! Kagome, what did you do to get them to have facials?"

"Nothing. I found them like this and InuYasha talked me into one. Care to join us?"

"Um, I think I'll just be going now. I'd rather go look for big foot. At least finding him would be less shocking than this." Sango shook her head and stumbled off to the kitchen, hoping to drown her fears in ice cream. "Never in my life..."

……………………………………..

"Where are you two going this time?" Kagome asked as Sango waited for Miroku to take her out.

"Dinner and a movie." Sango said simply as her date snuck up behind her, giving her a hug. "We'll be home at a reasonable hour mommy." Kagome laughed as they left for their date. InuYasha walked out into the hall, dressed to go out for an errand.

"And where are you going?" Kagome asked as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket.

"To your house to deliver this game to your brother. Wanna come?" InuYasha held the door open for Kagome to come along.

"Sure! Let me grab my coat off the rack." She pulled down her black jacket and trotted out behind him, then got into the silver car. He raced down the streets, music blaring, reaching the Higurashi shrine in record time. They walked up the seemingly endless stairs to the back door. Kagome merely walked inside and motioned for InuYasha to follow her.

"InuYasha!" Souta yelled and ran into the kitchen. The older boy smiled as he raced up to greet him.

"Here's the game I promised. I wrote down the codes and stuck them inside so that you can cheat whenever you want." Souta gasped out a thanks and ran back out to the tv to put in his new game.

"Kagome, you're home! InuYasha's here too! I guess that means two extra places unless you had plans?" Mrs. Higurashi walked into the kitchen to greet her daughter. Kagome hugged her mom, while InuYasha shook her hand. Mrs. Higurashi smiled and pulled two plates down from the cabinet and set their places. Kagome and InuYasha took a seats at the table while granpa wandered in for dinner.

"No spells, Jii-chan!" Kagome yelled as he prepared to slap another one onto InuYasha's head. Her granpa looked crestfallen but sat down quietly. InuYasha seemed to relax when he realized that he wasn't going to look like a human sticker board when he left the Higurashi house.

"Souta! Dinner!" Mrs. Higurashi called as she carried a steaming tray of rice and sushi to the table. The boy raced into the room and took the seat on InuYasha's right so he could ask him questions about video games and stardom. Mrs. Higurashi served everyone and came to InuYasha and stopped. She gasped audibly, making him turn several shades whiter. She reached and grabbed both ears, giving them a thorough rub, just as Kagome had warned him before.

"Those are so cute! Kagome you found the right boyfriend this time!" The woman squealed. It was Kagome's turn to pale.

"Mom, he's not my boyfriend! Plus, I've never had a boyfriend, so how could there be a this time? Who was I supposed to date at that school? Hojo?" Kagome turned her nose up at the idea. InuYasha had begun to purr loudly, earning him some odd looks from the rest of the family. His face turned a deep red as everyone turned to look at him. Mrs. Higurashi only rubbed harder, giggling as he purred.

"Mom, dinner's getting cold and I don't think InuYasha needs to hire a pro ear rubber, but if he does I think you'll be it." Kagome laughed while he blushed harder and started to eat her meal. InuYasha finished faster than humanly possible and was starting a third helping when he noticed the whole family staring.

"Umm, I have a very high metabolism?" He suggested and put the rice loaded spoon back into the bowl.

"Oh, eat as much as you want, dear! I hope they feed you enough at that mansion." Mrs. Higurashi smiled sweetly as InuYasha began to put more rice on his plate.

"Totosai's a great cook, don't worry. I just seem to never be full. Got any soy sauce?" Souta passed him the requested item and InuYasha poured nearly half of the bottle onto his food before starting to eat again. Soon the bowl of rice was empty, seeing as InuYasha decided to eat everything at the table. Kagome's plate was still half full though. "You gonna eat that?" InuYasha said, mouth full, pointing at Kagome's plate. She shoved it toward him and he accepted the food with a muffled 'thanks'.

"If you want anything else to eat, just ask and I'll make you something. Make your self at home. I could use someone civilized as you are in this house." Mrs. Higurashi ruffled his hair and carried the empty plates to the sink.

"I'm civilized." InuYasha said smugly.

"You got some sauce on your chin, oh master of etiquette." Kagome pointed lazily at his face, which he proceeded to rub furiously with a napkin. She sighed and left the table to help her mom clean up, but not before giving InuYasha's ears a swift rub. He purred gratefully as he stuffed the half-eaten sushi in his mouth.

InuYasha finished off the food and handed the nearly sparkling plate to Mrs. Higurashi. She looked at how clean it was in shock as he wandered off to find Kagome. Souta had already begun to play his new game, Jii-chan was nowhere to be seen (thankfully) and Kagome had apparently went off on her own devices. InuYasha sat down on the floor next to Souta and watched him play.

"That's no way to kill that monster. Lemme see that!" InuYasha scorned and took the controller. He killed the beast in one easy swing and handed the control back to Souta. "That's how you play! It's easier to use that kind of attack instead of doing all of the complicated stuff." He explained simply as Souta tested the theory on another monster.

"Thanks! I was having a really hard time with that one. You sure know a ton of cool stuff. I could use a brother like you." Souta sighed wistfully and returned to attacking monsters.

"I thought that Kagome played games and stuff with you. she said you were really good." InuYasha turned to face the boy.

"Yeah, well you're a lot cooler. I wish you were my brother." He said off handedly.

"Maybe I could be one day if I could get the courage to make a move." InuYasha paled as the words slipped out of his mouth. Souta merely shrugged.

"What's wrong?" Suddenly InuYasha found himself pouring out his troubles to the kid.

"WelI, can't tell what she likes and I don't have the courage to try anything. You have any advice?"

"She likes you a lot and I know she really a cuddly type person."

"How do you know that? She said she's never had a boyfriend."

"Brother's intuition."

"Wish I had some of that...it'd make life easier..." InuYasha frowned and crossed his arms.

"If you were related to her then you couldn't make out or anything like that. Well, you could but it'd be really wrong." InuYasha laughed out loud at Souta's blunt way of explaining things. It was much like his own way of speaking. "I know she likes clothes, guitars, books, pretty much anything a teen girl likes. Oh, and manga and anime."

"I bought her a guitar already."

"And?"

"She glomped me."

"Then it seems you've covered hugging. Now you need to try to kiss her."

"Tried and failed miserably."

"Lemme guess: you were interrupted mid lean."

"Exactly."

"Just try again. She won't refuse. She had a huge poster of you on her wall before she packed up, your name painted by it and everything. The name is still there, but she packed up the poster with her. Just get up some courage and lay one on her." Souta calmly slew a monster as he spoke, using InuYasha's technique.

"Where the hell did you learn this stuff?" InuYasha was amazed at the boy's knowledge on the subject.

"Kagome has a ton of magazines laying around here. Sometimes it gets boring and I read one just to see why she's so weird. I don't think I'll ever understand females." InuYasha shook his head as Souta slew another beast.

"Me either. You know, I play music and sing in front of thousands of people, do press conferences, even tv specials live and yet I can't get up the guts to kiss one chick." InuYasha leaned back against the coffee table and sighed. "I can't believe I just took love advice from a fourteen year old."

"I'm thirteen." Souta corrected automatically. "Everyone thinks I'm older."

"Great. Better and better." InuYasha resisted the urge to beat his head against a sturdy wall when he heard Kagome's foot steps.

"You guys must getting along really well. What were you talking about?" Kagome came into the living room and sat on the coffee table behind InuYasha. He sat up to allow her leg room then leaned back so he was resting against her. Kagome absently ran her fingers through his hair as she watched Souta kill simulated monsters.

"InuYasha was telling me about" Souta began, making InuYasha nearly pass out. "how he beat this game already. It seems tough, but I think I can do it."

"We need to go now InuYasha. I think my granpa has come up with another spell to lay on you and I doubt you want to covered in stickers." InuYasha began to rise to his feet and stopped so he was crouched next to Souta. He pulled a twenty out of his pocket and slipped it to the boy.

"Thanks for the advice and keeping a closed mouth. You're a good kid." He winked and walked off while Souta shoved the bill into his own pocket.

……………………………………..

Kagome and InuYasha found the mansion empty of their band mates and lay on the floor of the basement in their usual pajamas.

"You've met my family twice and had two meals with them. When can I talk to your family?" Kagome rolled over onto her stomach and faced InuYasha.

"If you can talk to the dead then I suppose you could meet them." InuYasha merely stared at the white ceiling as he lay on his back.

"I'm sorry. I forgot." Kagome mentally kicked herself for forgetting that his parents had died a few years back.

"That's okay, really. I'm fine." He smiled sadly at her. Flashes of family memories came back to him. They were blurred from time, but still precious. "I have some pictures of them if you want to see. I think there's even one of Sesshomaru and me in a bath tub together from when we were really little. Want to go check them out?" InuYasha stood up and waited for Kagome to come along.

"Sure." She stretched and sat up. "I don't think I can get up." InuYasha reached out and took her by the hand then pulled her up. She held onto his hand for a few seconds longer than needed and blushed. He lead her upstairs to his room.

Kagome peered around, trying to see as much as she could since he had the lights on. Old swords hung on the walls in between the posters and the usual junk cluttered the floor. It looked very comfortable and lived in though. InuYasha showed her over to his bed and sat down on the edge then leaned over to pull and old leather bound book out of his nightstand. She sat down next to him as he cracked open the cover. The pages were smudged and some were even stained from years of being looked at. She watched as he turned the pages, explaining most of the events. Kagome laughed at some of the funny pictures, like the one that he had mentioned earlier. His brother looked terribly unhappy at the prospect of being in the bath tub while InuYasha was happily playing with the bubbles. It was just too cute for words. His mother had been beautiful, white haired like her sons, but with violet eyes, and her face held the happiness and warmth of InuYasha's. Kagome could tell that InuYasha had more of his mother's traits than his fathers from the way his mother was always laughing and smiling but his father had the same distant appearance of Sesshomaru. InuYasha turned to the last page, exposing a large family picture that covered the entire page. His mother was dressed in a gorgeous red dress while the boys and her husband were in tuxedos. All of them were smiling happily as if they were having a lot of fun.

"That was when we went to this play. It was really boring but we made really rude jokes and giggled the whole time since we were sitting in the very back row. No one noticed and we had the time of our lives." InuYasha shook slightly as he spoke, making the book quiver. "After the play we went home and the next morning a maid was telling me my parents were gone." His voice had dropped to a whisper and a single tear fell onto the page. Kagome noticed there were other tear stains covering the paper behind the picture. She understood why; it was the last night that they had all had fun together and been a whole family. InuYasha was gripping the book with white knuckles as he stared at the photograph. Suddenly he closed the book and shoved it back onto his nightstand. He sat hunched over with his arms crossed, as if he had some kind of a terrible stomach ache. She recognized that ache; it was one she'd had many times before.

"It's okay." Kagome wrapped her arms around him quietly and leaned him back onto the bed. He hadn't spoken for a while and was worrying her. Kagome rubbed his shoulder with one hand. "Will you talk to me?"

"Kagome, could you lend me your lap?" He murmured. She shifted so that she had her legs folded up indian style and he put his head into her lap. A single tear had left a watery track on his face. She began to scratch his head silently, waiting for him to say something. He finally uttered a single sentence. "You must really think I'm pathetic." Kagome sighed deeply a his remark.

"No, I don't. Crying because you lost a family member is nothing to be embarrassed. My father died in a car accident a little while after Souta was born. I cried for longer than I can remember and still get sad now. You lost both your parents, which I couldn't even imagine. You're a lot tougher than I would be. I think I'd still be crying." Kagome smiled down at him. InuYasha gave a feeble smirk in return, looking nothing like the tough guy he made himself out to be.

"I think I knew my mother better than anyone. She always was happy and made jokes. She could have made a funeral a fun occasion. I played with her all the time and she took me everywhere. I always had fun with her." InuYasha had closed his eyes as he spoke, relaxing under Kagome's touch. "You know that I'm a half demon, right?"

"I kind of figured since my granpa taught me a lot about demons and their traits. I could tell you weren't a full demon, but I knew you had some youkai in you."

"My mother was a human. Nobody I know can remember Sesshomaru's mother; not even Sess himself. So since my mother was human and my father a demon, I'm a hanyou. Demons always think that hanyous are filthy and weak and humans think they're too strong and strange to associate with. My mother shared the same problem as me because she was hated for being with a demon. She taught me to overcome it. She was strong no matter how much she was ridiculed and never broke down under any pressure. So many youkai disliked her for being with my father and threatened her, but she was always so tough. She'd just hold her head up and keep going. You aren't freaked out by me now, are you?" InuYasha sounded truly concerned; he must have lost many friends to the mere fact that he was a half demon.

"I don't care what you are. You're you and nothing else and you can't change what you are, so don't worry about me not accepting you. Besides, if you were something else, then I wouldn't have your wonderfully cute ears to pet and I'd never get to hear you purr." Kagome stated firmly.

"I never did worry. You know what?" His voice was thick with fatigue and he sounded as if he'd go to sleep any second.

"Hmm?"

"You remind me of my mother." InuYasha mumbled before falling asleep. Kagome smiled despite herself, knowing that was the ultimate compliment coming from InuYasha. He acted so tough, like nothing could ever break him, but underneath his steel exterior he was just a big puppy and a total softie. He had a broader range of emotions than Kagome could ever imagine, and he showed everyone of them to her at one time or another. She leaned back against the giant footboard of the bed and drew the curtains around them. He usually kept the heavy velvet drapes open, but the lights were on and Kagome just really wanted a nap and didn't wish to disturb him. Luckily the drapes blocked out most of the light, allowing both of them to drift into dreamless sleep.

……………………………………..

See? Kinda fluffy there. Notice anything about how InuYasha never mentioned how his parents died? Will we ever find out? Tcha, we will! But not in this story. Oh no! IN THE SEQUEL! YES, YOU HEARD CORRECT! THE SEQUEL! WUHAHAHA! I'd like one minute of reverent silence for those who convinced me to write a sequel…………………………………………………………………….. Anyways,

Review Replies!

Hanoi- Yes, I believe I shall! How's this?

kitsune-youkai-17- Aw, that sucks. That game rocks! Yeah, Kikyo shall return. Hope I'll see you soon!

SesshysKitty- Yeah, I think Sess is kinda humorous in an unintentional way. He'll say more interesting stuff as the show goes on.

Hana-maru285- Thanks!

Rocky- Writing is the highlight of my life.

BlackCat92- Aw, you're welcome! I couldn't help it! Nope, she's not a slut, just a bitch. Inu/Kag kiss in about… oh, maybe two or three chapters? Don't depend on it though. There'll be some more stuff like this before then though.

Koneko167- I didn't ruin it! Blame it one clicks and Sango and Miroku! Okay, it was my fault. Their kiss will be dramatic though. Gotta build up some tension first, ne?

Tester- No way! Ya do?

falling-miko- Ah yes, the age old game of chicken! No! I hate the dentist! I cried when I had to go get my teeth pulled. My mouth was numb for hours and I was miserable. A co-write would be interesting…I'm off to read! Xio the Dog Demoness- looks dignified I make it my personal commitment to utilize my time and provide faster, more dependable updates. Nah, I just have too much time on my hands. SweetCherries- Sweet name! Bloodbunny- sorry to keep you hanging over the kiss…it'll be a couple of chapters. SilentSlayer- Thankies! Jonathold- Really? Nah. I've just got you all hypnotized into thinking that they get better and better. Thanks! QUOTE OF THE DAY! "They stole it from us, those fat little f—-kers!" My mum (we were doing smeagol you know, Lord of the Rings? Hooray for Tolkien freaks! impressions and she just burst out with that!) Now, anyone want a summery of the sequel? Speak up and be heard if you would!


	9. Love Hurts

Gosh, I feel so loved! I broke 100 reviews! Thank you all! wipes away a tear (yeah,I cried!) I feel so special!

……………………………………..

Kagome woke with an ache in her back. Thick curtains surrounded her, blocking out whatever light there was in the room. InuYasha's head was still in her lap, but he had curled up on his side in the middle of the night. She remembered the previous events and smiled. InuYasha had really opened up to her, allowing Kagome to see what he was really like inside. She wiggled out from beneath him lie down on the bed, wrapped her arms around the sleeping hanyou and rested her head on his bare chest. It was almost like a scene from Sango's book, but in the book there was a studly man and a beautiful woman, not a bedraggled hanyou and a tired teen girl. Kagome giggled quietly and tightened her grip on him. It was cool in the room and there wasn't any way to take a blanket out from under them. Her foot smacked up against a soft pile of fabric and she pulled it closer with her toes. Someone out there must have really liked her since it turned out to be a thick cotton blanket. she spread the material over them both before returning to her previous position. She didn't care what time it was, she was just happy to be exactly where she was at the moment and wished to make the minute last forever.

Sango peered into Kagome's room, only to find that she wasn't in her bed. 'Where could she have fallen asleep?' she thought and began to search the house for her friend. Kagome wasn't in any of the usual places that Sango would expect her to have been. She ended up deciding to ask Miroku, since he knew where InuYasha was, who usually knew where Kagome was.

"Miroku?" Sango knocked lightly on his door. He answered, looking wrecked but handsome at the same time. Miroku had his boxers on and his hair was down. Sango fought back a gasp and pressed on with her errand. "Do you know where InuYasha is, because Kagome is missing and he always knows where she went."

"I dunno, unless she spent the night with him. I don't think that happened since they haven't even kissed and reason just doesn't give in to passion that fast." Miroku offered some advice and turned to crawl back into his own bed. Sango rose fairly early by his terms, and inhumanly early by InuYasha's.

'May as well check his room since it's the last one left in the house.' Sango turned the handle to his door, trying be as quiet as possible in case Miroku was right. She padded into the bedroom and over to the curtained bed. 'Funny, he usually keeps these open.' she pulled back the very corner of the fabric and peered in. There they were, Kagome curled up in his arms. One of them must have gotten out the spare blanket and covered them up. Both were fast asleep in each others grasp. Sango smiled and let the curtain fall back into place then shut off the lights as she left. She went back to Miroku's room and walked in without knocking. Sango walked over to his bed where he was curled into a ball, trying desperately to sleep. She sat down next to him on the covers.

"Guess reason does give way fast." Miroku shot up to find Sango on his bed, one of his dreams come true.

"Oh? And what are you doing in my bed?" He asked lecherously.

"In, not on, you hentai. They're both asleep in his bed, looking like the picture of young love. Fully clothed before you even ask." Sango added with a saucy glare.

"I wasn't going to, but that's good to know. I wonder why they're in there though.." he pondered several possible scenarios, none of them even close to likely.

"I don't know. Maybe they just got to talking and passed out?"

"InuYasha isn't much of a talker most of the time. Maybe you're right since Kagome seems to have opened him up a lot. He used to never string together more than five words in a day and now he's getting out whole sentences. I'm quite amazed at his progress." Miroku said seriously. Sango shrugged and leaned up against his headboard.

"How can I forget? I hope they're making progress together though. I'll have to find out from Kagome later on."

……………………………………..

InuYasha's eyes flickered open, his vision blurry from sleep. It was sometime in the morning he knew, but why Kagome was there he couldn't comprehend. Sleep still fuzzed his memory, making him just forget about trying to figure out why she was there and take advantage of the situation. They were hopelessly entangled in each others arms, even there hair made a black and white mess on the bed covers. Kagome had spread a blanket over them sometime and drawn the curtains.

'If I could only wake up like this every day...' he thought to himself as he looked at he peaceful face. She looked beautiful in the day, but when she was asleep she looked like an angel. He ran one clawed hand gently over her cheek as he watched her sleep. He had never been so happy since his mother died and he wished he could bottle the feeling and save it forever. 'If you could only get up some nerve and make a move you could end up waking to this face every day.' a voice inside his head nagged. InuYasha brushed away the wise thought and returned to watching her sleep. Suddenly a grey eye opened; Kagome was awake. She yawned quietly and smiled before realizing that InuYasha had also woken up.

"Good morning. I'm going to go take a shower before breakfast. Do you have any idea what time it is?" Kagome sat up and looked around in the darkness.

"Not a clue, but I think it has to be around noon since I never get up before then. I think I need to clean up too." InuYasha remained lying on his back, staring at the heavy wooden canopy that was over his bed. Kagome slid out from under the blanket and kissed him on the forehead before getting out of the bed and leaving the room for her shower. He made no move to leave his resting place, shocked that she had kissed him. It was only on the forehead, but it was still more progress than he had made. InuYasha sighed and rolled out of bed, covering his eyes at the harsh light that poured in through his windows.

Kagome finished fixing her hair after her long shower. She had stayed under the hot water until she was more wrinkled than her grandfather before getting out. Sango knocked quietly on her doorframe and sat down next to her on the stool.

"You were in his bed." Sango said simply. Kagome blushed lightly as she pushed a pin into one of her buns.

"And? I fell asleep. I think you've been hanging around Miroku too much and he's rubbed off on you. We were both fully dressed." Kagome scowled at her friend before moving on to her makeup. She carefully put on some lip-gloss and stood up.

"What were you doing before you passed out in such a compromising manner?"

"He was showing me pictures of his family and telling me about his childhood." Kagome pulled on her black sneakers and started to lace them up.

"He has pictures of them?" Sango was bewildered. He'd never told anyone he had a photo album, not even Miroku, his best friend.

"Yeah. His mother was so pretty and he's a lot like her. He said that he always was with her and has pictures to prove it. He even has a really funny one of him and Sesshomaru in a bath tub....has he never shown them to you?" Sango's face was one of total confusion and shock.

"No, he's never even told Miroku and those two are like brothers. He must trust you a lot."

"Oh. Don't mention that I told you because he might not have wanted me to tell. I think he's pretty sad under his tough exterior." Kagome stared out her window at the sea, remembering how sad he had been the night before.

"What makes you say that? He's always seemed so happy go lucky most of the time. Maybe that wasn't the best way to put that since he gets pissed easy. More like...well, not sad." Sango fought for the right words to describe the hanyou and failed miserably.

"He's got more emotion in him than you think. It just takes a while to get to that emotion. He's suffered so much in his life and tries to hide it. He actually does a good job of not showing it."

"You've cracked him open more in these few weeks than any of us have in years. I've known him for years and never knew this much."

"Really?" Kagome was off in her own world, not listening to Sango as much the girl thought. "He said I reminded him of his mother." Sango sat in awe of the statement. InuYasha had never been that nice in all of the time she'd known him. Compliments from him were disgustingly rare, making him seem as if he never thought anything was good enough. "What's for...lunch?" Kagome looked at her watch and noticed it was past noon and way too late for breakfast.

"I don't know, but I think Miroku was having a strong craving for burgers and fries." Sango got up to leave the room since Kagome was obviously off in la la land.

"Sounds good to me."

……………………………………..

"Okay. The grand high asshole called and wanted me to remind you all that the tour starts soon. Our first stop is going to be Wakkanai and after that we'll work our way south until we end up in Nagasaki. We'll go to Wakkanai by plane and then use the tour bus to get everywhere else. I'm assuming we'll have the usual cabin in the mountains and a few days off for skiing and all that good stuff. Questions?" InuYasha said between mouthfuls of fries.

"Yeah, exactly when are we hopping this plane?" Miroku asked. Sango and Kagome nodded in agreement. He'd probably left out that little detail for a reason.

"Umm...well, you see..." He stuttered.

"When do we leave, InuYasha?" Sango asked in the sternest voice possible.

"Sixdays." InuYasha ran the words together in a rush.

"What? We need to go shopping! And pack!" Kagome yelled, earning curious looks from the other diners.

"Calm down! You can go shopping today and pack the rest of the time." InuYasha tried desperately to make amends. Kagome obviously wasn't hearing it.

"I can go shopping? Uh-uh. You will be coming with us and act as our pack mule for not telling us sooner." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest. Miroku snorted loudly, nearly spraying coke on the table.

"B-but...he just called this morning and-"

"No buts! Consider yourself locked." Miroku only laughed harder at his friends plight.

"You too Miroku." Sango cast a sharp glare towards the snorting drummer. He sighed unhappily and stopped laughing. It would be a long, uncomfortable day.

They made it back to the mansion, armed to the teeth with bags. Well, the boys did, that is. Sango and Kagome tripped merrily up the stairs and in the door, carrying only their purses. They had spent the past six hours hitting every store within thirty miles and were on an unexplainable high that only came from a day of spending. InuYasha and Miroku trudged up the stairs with at least fifteen bags apiece, not counting the ones still in the limo. They had bought nothing for themselves since the girls didn't give them any time to look. Neither of them ever wanted to hear the word shop again.

……………………………………..

"Oh, shit! I have to go! I promise I'll be back in an hour." InuYasha flew out the door despite the fact that he still ached from yesterdays excursion. Kagome watched a white blur race down the hall, grab a jacket and slam the door. She shook her head and went back to watching tv.

……………………………………..

"He said an hour and it's seven o' clock! Where is he?" Kagome had begun to worry about InuYasha. He always kept his promises; only something really bad could hold him back. She heard the front door open and the sounds of heavy footsteps trudging inside. She prepared to give him the scolding of a life time as she jumped off the couch and stalked to the door. One look at his condition stopped her dead in her tracks.

His shirt was red with blood and his nose was bandaged like it was broken. A white bandage was wrapped around his head, hiding his ears from sight and bruises marred his face. InuYasha's right arm was in a sling, his other arm covered in more bruises. His free hand was wrapped in bandages and was shaking slightly. His breathing was heavy and erratic as he slipped his coat off his shoulders and tried to put it on the coat rack. He dropped it on the floor in the end then tried to pick up, only to find he couldn't bend over too far before white hot streaks of pain shot up his side. InuYasha smiled weakly at Kagome, causing a half healed cut in his lip to split open. A tiny streak of blood ran down his chin, leaving a red trail in its wake.

Kagome's hands flew to her mouth as she stared in shock. She raced up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. InuYasha grunted slightly in pain but rubbed her back with his bandaged hand.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kagome said between sobs. she had burst out in tears at the mere sight of him. She had never seen InuYasha in this kind of condition before.

"I took a small tumble. I promised your mom that I'd be at your house by one to pick up a surprise for you and was walking up those damn steps and when I got to the very top one I slipped one something and fell backwards. Like any normal being I yelled and she came rushing out of the house but she couldn't stop me. I rolled down every single one of those steps until I hit the sidewalk at the end. I landed flat on my back and a blacked out for a few seconds. When she made her way down I was lying there on the street moaning in pain. She wanted to call an ambulance but I wouldn't let her, so she settled for driving me to the hospital even though I told her just to bring me home. My nose wouldn't quit bleeding no matter how hard I pinched it. I finally had to put my shirt over it because I was afraid that I would drown in my own blood. The hospital bandaged me up after I told them I was half demon and let me go home. My injuries total up to a broken nose, arm, shoulder, hand, one cracked rib, a split lip, a huge lump on the back on my head and major bruising." Kagome sobbed even harder as he told her what happened. "I'm fine, really."

"No you aren't. I was right from day one: you're a real dumb fuck." Kagome cried into his shirt, soaking it with tears. He laughed, only it sounded more like a wheeze. "You're lucky you didn't die, any human would. I was so worried and here you come into the house looking you got the losing end of a fight. What am I going to do with you?"

"I was thinking about going and putting on my trunks and getting in the hot tub." He had shuffled back wards as Kagome talked until he could lean against the wall for support. "If you'd like you may come with me and bring Miroku and Sango. I think some hot tub time would do us all some good here."

"There's a hot tub?"

"The door to the right of the gym leads to a spa room. Now can I please go change out these bloody clothes?" InuYasha peered down his broken nose at the sobbing Kagome.

"Okay. Be careful! Take the elevator!" She let go of him and watched him shuffle down the hall. Kagome looked down at her own clothes: they were covered in blood from holding him. She trudged off to her room to change after rounding up Miroku and Sango.

Kagome found InuYasha in the room he had indicated, already in the tub. He had somehow tied his hair back to keep it out of the water. She noticed he had bandages around his ribs also. Kagome slid into the water, Sango and Miroku were close behind. InuYasha regaled them all with his tale of pain before they could even ask questions.

"Don't worry about; I'll be well in four days max. All healed for the concert and ready to go. I'll be playing again before you know it. We have a whole day in Wakkanai before we have to play, which gives me a whole five days to relax. Kagome here acted like I was dead when she saw me." InuYasha smirked, only this time his lip didn't split. Kagome huffed and crossed her arms.

"You have no idea how worried I was! You were gone for six hours longer than you said." she nearly began crying again until InuYasha slid over next to her.

"I will be perfectly fine. I only fell down a grand total of seventy-five concrete steps. Heck, Sesshomaru put his entire hand through my stomach once and I don't even have a scar! I'd show you, but the bandages hide it." He wrapped an arm around her. "I. Am. Fine. Understand?" Kagome nodded and leaned back against his arm, earning another gasp of pain.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted and jumped up. His hand still shook furiously from not being in a proper cast like it should have been.

"It's okay! The more I use it, the less pain." He slowly bent his arm and wrapped it around her, then pulled her to his chest.

"You're so stupid." Kagome scorned, but allowed him to hold her. Miroku and Sango laughed as they watched the two argue it out like an old married couple.

"If you'll pardon me from interrupting this little anger fest, but I'd like to know what time we're leaving this week?" Miroku asked.

"Sometime around nine in the morning. I tried to get Sesshomaru to allow me my rest, but he wouldn't give in. I told him leaving at three was perfectly acceptable, but he just wouldn't give in. He's such a stubborn jerk." InuYasha pouted at the thought of losing sleep.

"At least he's a good manager. He doesn't take no for answer and always gets us the best arrangements possible. Oh, and why did he put his hand through your stomach, InuYasha?" Sango asked curiously. InuYasha sighed at the memory.

"It was when I was about thirteen and we were arguing over something stupid, so he ran his hand through my middle. His claws came straight through the other side of me. I was literally impaled on his arm. I healed up fast though; about a week later it had scabbed over." He shrugged as he nonchalantly spoke about having his brother's arm in his stomach. Sango cringed, Miroku looked queasy and Kagome had turned the color of paper. "What? We're demons, we can do some pretty rough damage to each other. I stabbed him through the arm with a sword once. Those were the days..."

"Yeah, it sounds like true brotherly love to me. 'I want the last cookie!' 'No, I do!' 'Alright, take this! I'll put my arm through you!'" Miroku mimicked two boys arguing like InuYasha had said.

"You know, I think we were fighting over the last cookie now that I think about. That Russian woman always made the best chocolate chip cookies." InuYasha reminisced while Miroku shook his head sadly.

"Like I said: You're so stupid." Kagome repeated. They passed the better part of two hours talking about the dumbest arguments they'd ever had. InuYasha's arm story won though. They finally got out and went take showers. InuYasha and Miroku went off to the boys' shower room and Sango showed Kagome the girls' baths. The house had been built with shower rooms off the spa so that you could bathe without having to track water all the way up to your room.

Kagome was passing the boys' floor on her way up the stairs to her room when she heard a voice curse loudly. It had to be InuYasha. She stopped and went down the hall to knock on his door. Another violent oath met her ears as she turned the handle to peek in. InuYasha had somehow managed to slip on a white t shirt and red boxers, but was trying to tie his broken arm up in a sling with one broken hand. He fought the piece of material furiously.

"Why don't you just use the hospital's sling that they sent you home with?" She asked while watching him try to tie the fabric into a proper sling.

"Because it cuts into my neck and if I use my mother's old scarf then it won't. When I was little and broke my arm she tied it up in this very same scarf. It's a lot more comfortable if I could get the damn thing on!" He was near to giving up when Kagome walked over to stand in front of him.

"Here." She took the material from him, folded it into a triangle, and began to tie it around his neck using both arms. He stood perfectly still; her face was so close to his. 'I'll never get a chance like this again..' he though as she continued to tie the scarf in a knot. InuYasha closed his eyes and slowly leaned in to capture Kagome's lips with his own. Kagome gasped as she felt his mouth meet hers. She stopped tying the knot and wrapped her arms tenderly around his neck, closing off what little space was left between them entirely. He wrapped his free arm around her waist, softly caressing her side with his broken fingers. InuYasha's tongue pressed lightly against Kagome's lips, asking for entry. Kagome parted her lips slightly as he swept around inside her mouth, exploring every crevice and absorbing her taste. 'She tastes even better than she smells.' He thought. Kagome ran her hands over his back, accidentally hitting a tender spot. Pain shot through him, making him gasp. InuYasha pulled away quickly, making Kagome jump. Hurt was apparent in her eyes; she had misunderstood why he moved.

"No, you just hit a big bruise on my back and it hurt some. It's not your fault, don't worry." He wheezed, smiling despite the ache. Kagome placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"That's it. I'm staying here tonight. I'm dressed for bed anyways and you need someone to watch you. You might fall out of bed and not be able to get up. And don't you dare argue with me." She said, her voice slightly muffled. InuYasha held her, not wanting to let go. Kagome felt him tremble under her grasp. "You're shaking really bad."

"That's mostly your fault." He grinned and squeezed her a little tighter. "Do you want to sit down or something? I don't think I can stand up for much longer and I'm afraid I'd crush you if I fell over." Kagome let go and allowed him to hobble over to his bed. InuYasha swung his legs up onto the mattress and pat the space next him. "Come here. I'm not letting you sleep on the floor or the couch if you stay here." Kagome sat down next to him after executing a small hop to get onto the bed. He usually had a step on the floor so that he could get into his high bed but it was missing.

"What if I hit you in the middle of the night?" She asked.

"You don't move a lot when you sleep; I remember from the other night. Now watch this." InuYasha reached out and pressed a button on his nightstand. A flat screen tv slid up from inside his foot board and stopped at the perfect height.

"That's why your foot board is so thick!" Kagome cried as she watched in awe.

"Yup. Are you hungry, because I haven't eaten all day." Kagome nodded and moved to get off the bed.

"Oh no, allow me." He pushed a different button and spoke to what seemed like no one. "I need two cokes, a large plate of fries with plenty of salt and ketchup and some other treat for two. Surprise us." Kagome gave him a strange look. "There's an intercom that goes on when I push that. It runs right to the kitchen so I can get something to eat without moving. I got it installed when I got sick and couldn't crawl out of the room. I was well fast, but it's no fun when you can't have food whenever you want."

A knock sounded at the door as he spoke. InuYasha called for them to enter and a maid pushing a cart come into the room. She left the cart next to the bed and left the room. InuYasha served the food one handedly and they both settled in to watch tv. He turned on a movie they both liked and the two sat there eating, talking and watching tv for hours.

After both of them had nearly nodded off a few times InuYasha turned of the tv and cleared the plates. He drew the curtains around them so he didn't have to get up and turn off the lights. A small night light above his head board shed the only light in the bed.

"Um, Kagome, could you pull back the blankets? I really don't want to hurt my arm again and would rather not freeze to death tonight." InuYasha chewed his lip, embarrassed. He was usually extremely independent and hated to have to ask someone to assist him for anything. She pulled back the heavy covers and allowed him to slide under them before letting them fall back into place. Kagome lay down on an extremely soft pillow after turning off the light and closed her eyes. InuYasha reached around her and pulled her up closer to his side. She wrapped an arm around his waist as gently as she could, trying not to hit any bruises. He sighed happily and closed his eyes. Kagome sat up suddenly and kissed him.

"Good night, InuYasha."

"Good night, Kagome." InuYasha settled into his pillow and tightened his grip on Kagome as much as he could. 'This is the life.' he thought and slowly fell asleep.

……………………………………..

Review Replys!

AngelOfDiamonds- Thanks!

BlueEyes7- Phew! You really had me going there! I thought something was wrong! Thanks! I'm gonna go see them Thursday! Pit tix all the way! Except I had to pay $30 for mine…

kool11c- I love it when people keep reviewing! Thanks!

Jonathold- Ooh, congrats. There's still going to be humor, that was just a serious chapter. The trumpet? Cool. I suck at music, but play enough guitar to know hwo to write all the technical stuff for this fic. Hipp-o-phobic! I like that!

SesshysKitty- Thanks for addressing that! I meant to take that sentence out but missed it somehow! Now I must change it…

Kaity- Thankies very much!

water elf 1- Thanks!

Inuyasha-my-lover- Thanks, but it may be a while. This story has a ways to go! 

Unknown- Hey, it was light fluff. Like low-fat food. There was your fluff! Better? 

Sakura Fujimia- Thanks! I love reviews! 

Inu/Kag Fan- Thanks! Here's more Inu/Kag for you too! 

Shriylon- Thanks! I work really hard to try to spell/grammer check. All this work I do for you guys! 

Animepeep- Thanks! Now go shoot something. And take a nap! Your eyes are purple like you got hit! 

Serinitay- I glad you think it freckin rocked. That was quite a bit of pain, you think? 

ShadowStalker2008- I'm glad you do! TRunK-loVEr- That's okay! Thanks so much! S

Shyn- I love blink 182. They're the best! I'll always be writing. 

DraGonMistress704- Thanks! That's the most profane compliment I've heard in a week! You make me feel special! 

Someone- Thanks! 

Bloodbunny- Less than I thought! Thanks! 

Tester- Pretty long. There's still a ways to go. I think this might be the half way point, not sure… 

falling-miko- You already know what I said! 

Shaeya Sedjet- No, I often like the quotes best myself! LOTR rules! So do weird moods. I'll tell my mom you liked it just to see what she says… 

BlackCat92- You got my mail, right? So you know what I say. 

Xio the Dog Demoness- Yeah, Souta just came out of nowhere in my mind! Thanks! 

SilentSlayer- Okay! Okay! Okay! 

Hanoi- That's one honor I will do! 

kitsune-youkai-17- Yeah, the bitch comes back. But she gets what's comin! 

Summery: InuYasha's having nightmares and youkai urges that are straining his relationship with Kagome. Miroku and Sango can't really get past first base even though they've dated for about a year. What's going wrong? An old villain returns and wreaks havoc for InuYasha. He finally has a family and it might get destroyed! Will he escape the villain's clutches or will he die at his hands? 

The sequel will be a while since I'm doing a co-write with falling-miko. But don't fear, it shall get here! 

Quote of the Day! 

"Cicadas are fucking bugs. Literally." –my gran talking about the cicadas. They only come out to mate. That's it.


	10. Snackage

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Kagome woke up to find InuYasha kissing her neck. She sighed and leaned into his arms carefully, so as not to hurt him.

"Trying to give me a hickey or something?" She murmured as he continued.

"No, just seeing how to best wake you up. With Miroku I use the naked Sango thing, and now I know to kiss your neck. Need to work on Sango though..." InuYasha began to concentrate on what kind of torture he'd use on the bass player.

"You're awful. What time is it?"

"Kagome, what time do I ever wake up? And do you always ask that?"

"Sorry, it's habit. I can't see anything with the curtains closed and you don't have a clock in here either. In two nights you've ruined me from waking up by ten to sleeping until noon!"

"Yes, but you've never slept this well before have you?" InuYasha smirked in the darkness. Kagome huffed and drew the curtains open, nearly blinding him. "Oww! My eyes! My eyes!"

"It's not that bad! Come on, you need to get dressed so I can change your bandages and then we need to finish packing." Kagome began to leave his room to get herself cleaned up. "And be careful so you don't hurt yourself!"

"Yes doctor." InuYasha grumbled and shuffled to his closet to pick out something he could put on with one broken hand. It turned out that it was harder to find something of that nature than he thought. In the end InuYasha just picked out a pair of clean boxers and performed his hygiene routine before sitting down on his couch to wait for Kagome.

It was only a matter of minutes before she returned to the room, arms loaded with bandages other medical products. InuYasha got up to move to his stool so Kagome could have more room to move around him. She unwrapped his dressings and surveyed what damage was left. Most of the bruises had turned the green-yellow color of healing and the lump on his head had disappeared. He still couldn't move his fingers too much, nor could he use his broken arm. She rebandaged everything but his head and tied his sling once more.

"What about my nose?" InuYasha looked up to give her a pleading face.

"Nope. That stays until we leave on the plane. You don't want your nose healing up crooked, do you?" Kagome stated firmly as she continued to wrap his ribs in the soft cotton.

"But I look so stupid! Please? How can you refuse this face?" He pouted in hopes that the puppy dog look would get him his way.

"Easy. The puppy dog look doesn't work, especially since most of your face is strange colors. Now hold still so I can finish up your ribs." Kagome was right, he looked like a mess. Two large bruises still remained beneath his eyes and one coated most of his forehead. All of them were a nasty green, making him look queasy.

"I never get my way. The puppy look never worked on my mom either. Would you care to find a shirt I could put on without a lot of frustration?" He still hadn't gotten dressed and was getting cold in the boxers alone.

"Okay. Should I grab some pants for you too?" He nodded and Kagome entered his closet. It was huge; large enough to hold the contents of an entire store. Clothes were crammed in every single square inch of storage space, from shoes to shirts, to jeans and jackets. He had an outfit for every occasion and then some. After much debate she selected a black button up shirt and a simple pair of loose jeans. She didn't even bother with shoes since he never wore any unless he was in the city for some reason. He hated socks with a vengeance and didn't own but one pair for wearing with dress shoes.

"Should I dress you or do you want to risk rebreaking your fingers?" She held the clothes over one arm as he nodded. He was independent by nature and hated having someone wait on him, but if that someone happened to be Kagome he really didn't mind as much. She had him dressed in a matter of minutes, along with an ear rub and a kiss. InuYasha's nose perked up as they broke apart.

"Do I smell...jam?" He sniffed the air and grinned. "Sango's making jam! Yay!" He raced down the hall with Kagome's hand grasped lightly in his own. She jogged along behind him, trying to equal his large strides. They entered the kitchen and InuYasha's suspicions turned out to be correct. Sango stood at the stove, ladling jam into glass jars. She already appeared to have made a few batches since the entire counter was covered in full jars.

"You cook?" Kagome took a seat next to Miroku, who was watching Sango cook fondly.

"All I can really make is jam, but I guess that counts for something." Sango shrugged and returned to her food. InuYasha already had a spoon out and was hovering behind her, nearly drooling. "Go sit down Sir Eats a Lot and I'll get you a cooled jar, okay?" InuYasha sat down next to Kagome in a flash. He grabbed a napkin off the center of the table, threw it in his lap and held his spoon at the ready.

"Where'd you get the spoon?" Miroku asked.

"I have a tendency to carry one around. Never know when you'll find something to eat and won't have silverware. The laundry women are threatening to kill me if I leave one more set of silverware in pocket though. They've melted more than a few spoons in the dryer." InuYasha waited for Sango to bring him the snack. "I'm hunngrrry!"

"Shut up! I'm hurrying! Do you want this batch on the stove to go to waste?" She finished scooping the last of the jam into a jar and wiped her hands off. She grabbed one of the full containers and sat it down in front of InuYasha, along with a box of graham crackers. "You happy now, you bottomless pit?"

"Yup! Did you make any types beside raspberry?" He unscrewed the lid and stuck his spoon into the thick stuff and lifted it to his mouth.

"Yes, I made blackberry and strawberry too. Don't eat it all in one day either. I want to at least try some." Sango began to make another batch while InuYasha consumed a fourth of the jar in a few bites.

" 'Is is um 'ood shtuff. Oo unt um, Kagome?" InuYasha said with a full mouth as he continued to stuff himself. "Oo'll ike it!"

"I guess I'll try some. That is what you meant, right?" InuYasha nodded and handed Kagome his spoon, a rather generous act when it came to him sharing food. She took a bite and gasped. "Sango, this is fantastic! You could jars of this on the internet and make thousands! People would kill for a jar of preserves made by the great Sango, bass player for the Tamas!"

"I couldn't sell it. InuYasha would eat my whole stock before I even had a web page finished." Sango grinned at the compliment though.

"Anyone got a spoon?" Kagome asked. InuYasha whipped one out of his pocket, much to her surprise.

"Always carry a spare. You can share some of this jar since there's plenty left for me to attack later." InuYasha shoveled another heap of raspberries into his mouth. Kagome joined him, trying to match his pace.

"Here, before the two of you kill yourselves from not breathing in between bites." Sango poured a tall glass of juice and sat it in front of the two teens, complete with a straw for each of them. They both came up for air and took a drink of the juice. Sango sighed and got out a glass of milk for Miroku, who had decided to eat the graham crackers. He grabbed her by the waist of the pants as she walked away, making her come back. "Yes?" Sango asked. Miroku stood up and kissed her quickly on the cheek before returning to his snack. "Well, that's better thanks than I got from those two."

"Fank oo, 'ango." Came the muffled reply of two mouths filled with food.

"Don't mention it. I'm afraid all of the jam would fall out of your mouths and I'd have a big mess to clean up." Sango watched as Kagome leaned over to take another drink. She snuck up behind the girl and jerked up the neck of her shirt. Kagome turned around and gave her a funny look. "You have a hickey of gynormous proportions on your neck that you might want to hide before Miroku starts asking questions." She whispered to Kagome. InuYasha gave a loud snort as he ate another spoonful of jam. Kagome poked him in the ribs, just hard enough to make him feel it.

"Wha'?" he asked innocently.

"That's for doing what I asked if you were trying to do this morning." Kagome pouted and returned to eating.

"Am I missing something here, because you three seem to know something I don't." Miroku gave the group a questioning look as he munched a graham cracker.

"Which one of us tells?" Kagome looked over at InuYasha, who was still stuffing himself. "Guess that means me. Um, InuYasha and I are kind of...a couple."

"Like I didn't see that one coming from a million miles away. It's been obvious since day one. And here I thought you had some interesting news. Pitiful." Miroku took a swig of milk as Sango sauntered by. He reached out a lecherous hand and quickly got swatted away. Sango had gotten good at telling when he was trying to sneak in a grope and could smack him before he was in range.

"Lech."

……………………………………..

The next two days were total hell. With only a day left before they got on the plane for the tour, the mansion had fallen into complete chaos. Everyone was rushing around; packing clothes, instruments, personal items, and basically anything that could fit in a suit case. Sango had already had a few nervous breakdowns as she tried to choose which of her tons of hair clips to pack. Kagome had helped her through her 'tough time' before having her own crisis over whether or not to pack her book collection. Miroku was trying to decide which of his playboys to take, much to Sango's dismay. InuYasha was still wrapped up like a mummy at Kagome's insistence which didn't bother him at all since he never had to lift a finger. He spent his nights with Kagome in his room and his days at the breakfast table.

On one of such days he sat quietly at the bar in the extra dining area. The room had an opening like a window that opened into the secondary living room, which Sango, Kagome, and Miroku were currently standing in, surrounded by baggage. InuYasha watched silently, jam jar and juice in front of him, eating as the drama played out. He'd been observing the chaos for the past few days; it amused him greatly, as if it were a play. Sango was leaning over a bag while Kagome read off a list of items that she was supposed to check for. Miroku was contemplating on whether or not to grope the girl. He stretched out a hand, trying to be sneaky.

"Oi, Sango, you might wanna watch it. The lech is trying to sneak a grope." InuYasha offered helpfully and scooped up a spoonful of blackberry jam. He'd annihilated the raspberry and was working on the other flavors. Sango wheeled around and grasped Miroku by the wrist.

"NO." She said firmly before leaning back over. Miroku quickly leaned over and managed to get a small feel before Sango caught him. "I SAID NO! Don't you get it? No! N-O! No!" Sango shook him furiously by the shoulders. " How'd you like it if I grabbed your ass all the time?"

"I'd rather not answer that one..." Miroku got smacked upside his head by Sango as she returned to her previous task.

"Oh, I love it around tour time! Everyone is happy, so calm, so friendly!" InuYasha quipped as he downed his juice. Kagome stalked over to the window style opening, reached through and grabbed his ear, giving it a sharp pinch.

"You shut up if you can't help! It's rough to pack for months!" Kagome tugged his ear on every syllable, punctuating her remark. InuYasha smirked up at her while she pulled. She wasn't hurting him at all. He stood up, making her let go of his ear, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before taking off to get another jar of jam.

"Oh, Kagome? You got blackberry on your cheek." He called as he set off for the kitchen. She sighed and left the mark there, then returned to the suit cases.

……………………………………..

Late that evening Kagome walked down the boys' hall, intending to borrow one of InuYasha's guitars to practice with. She hadn't practiced in a while and thought some was better than none since they were leaving tomorrow.

"Kagome!" She heard InuYasha shouting from the vicinity of his room. He stumbled out, wrapped in a black robe and looking like a sticker machine had exploded on him. He was covered from head to toe in those new thermal patches that were supposed to relieve pain by using heat.

"What did you do to yourself?" Kagome asked in shock.

"Miroku said that these heat things and this cream helped relieve pain, and well, my bruises are still a little sore so I put on both and now I feel like I'm on fire! Please help me!" InuYasha had practically collapsed at her feet.

"Okay, what was the cream called?"

"Bengay, I think." He mumbled. Kagome's eyes widened in horror. Thermal patches on top of that stuff had to burn something awful. (a/n: totally something I would do on accident...when I'm in pain I don't think straight...)

"We need to get you into the bathroom before you die of being cooked from the outside in." She followed him to his bathroom, which was much like a larger replica of her own. It was laid out the same, except everything was much bigger. She directed him to take off the robe and sit on the edge of the tub while she got a wash cloth. Kagome pulled off the patches one by one until they were all lying in a pile on the floor. She turned on the warm water and began to scrub off the cream. By the time she was finished the water was up to the top of the tub since she'd forgotten to take the plug out and InuYasha was cream free.

"Thanks, that's much better. But you know what?" InuYasha asked as Kagome put away the cloth.

"Hmm?" She asked absently as she walked back over next to the tub.

"I think you need cleaned off too." InuYasha grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the water, soaking her completely.

"You're...you're..." She stuttered as she sat up.

"I'm?"

"You're so dead!" She jumped out of the water and chased InuYasha through the bathroom, slipping and sliding in her wet boots. He dashed through the door and into the bedroom, Kagome hot on his heels. She finally jumped and tackled him onto the bed. "Now I'm going to get dried off and you can lay here and be soaked."

"You're coming back, right? Some movies are on tonight."

"Of course!" She skipped down the hall, leaving a trail of water in her wake.

……………………………………..

Review Replies!

KokoroShoujo- I deserve more than I've got? Wow, I thought I've gotten more then I deserved!

animepeep- It should be her....damn....

shakita45- Thanks! I try to keep them in character as best as I can.

Kaity- People are reading my story _out loud_? No way! Thanks!

SesshysKitty- Oh, the plot will get thick here soon....cookies rock! Just cooked ones, that is.

Inulover4ever- Uh oh, I'm gonna drive you nuts...but Kikyo doesn't really do any of the villany, just ets pissed and starts some stuff.

kool11c- Thankies!

demonclaw452- I try to keep it lighthearted for the most part. Sometimes you gotta be serious though!

DraGonMistress704- You guys make me feel special everyday!

Bana- That the end? O.o No, no, it's onlt the begining! Wuhahaha....ehem, anyways...thanks!

Inuyasha-my-lover- Thanks! I love your screen name, that's cute!

crazy-kitsune- why does everyone think it's over? It's not! Theres lots more! Lots! There's tours to go on, people to draw on, planes to ride, obsticles to get over, people to hit with cars....oops! I say too much!

Inu/Kag Fan- Ohh yeah! They'll stay cuddly and romantic, especially in the sequel. I love sweet InuYasha, it's nice to see him act like something other than a goof.

BlackCat92- I'll read that! I hate when authors never update, it drives me crazy. I try to update asap unless I'm gone all day. No update thursday since I went and saw Blink, which was awesome! Thanks for all the nice words!

TRunK-loVEr- Noooo! I did?! I try to get everyone..lemme check and see if I got the alert even....I did! I'm soooo sorry! Here! I apologize on my hands and knees, I send you hugs, pocky, even an Inu plushie! Damn I feel stupid! Thanks for continuing reviewing! I'm sorry! watery eyes of apology

falling-miko- Ohh yeah, he's behaving. He's eating all that ramen that we have but don't eat. Don't worry, you can glue his hands back soon! TTFN!

anubaka- oh yes, it's one of my dreams too. Thanks!

unknown- speedy? Is that good or bad?

SilentSlayer- Thanks!

cutie-kitsune- ah, he'll heal up soon. He's not hanyou for nothing!

Xio the Dog Demoness - Thanks!

bloodbunny- I know! I know! I know! It feels so good to post that chapter!

Shriylon- Nothing to fix? Really? Wow, spell check is awesome! I love when I get author alerts on a good fic, they always pick you up!

Jonathold- I could be _famous? _Gosh you people flatter me! I dunno if I could be famous. I think writing is easy once you can get an idea together. I used to play piano (cough third grade cough) and quit practicing. Congrats on the win though. I can't wait to post the sequel! I've got almost 25 pages done already!

Quote of the Day!

"I used to read those true romance novels when I was a teen, but that doesn't mean I went out and laid everyone in the neighborhood!" My gran, talking aobut how so many people get bent out of shape over books.


	11. Stupid Airport Security

I'm sooooo sorry! My internet has been down and it wouldn't let me upload anything. Please accept this very late chapter as my apology.

……………………………………..

InuYasha lay perfectly asleep until a small weight hit his middle. Kagome was practically sitting on top of him, trying to make him wake up.

"InuYasha! Time to get up! It's time to get dressed and get on the plane, sleepyhead." She called. He feigned sleep, hoping to make her give up, but Kagome wasn't a quitter. "Fine, be like that." She got out of the bed, leaving him to rest. He listened and heard the shower run; Kagome had begun taking morning showers in his room, on the condition that he didn't come in without permission. He rolled over onto his side and listened to her take her bath. He had healed properly, but his arm was still stiff, so he kept it in the sling. The bandage still rested on his nose since Kagome said she'd take it off today. He was half asleep when Kagome came back into the room, washed and dressed for the day.

"Up now!" She yelled and wrung out her long black hair onto his face. InuYasha sputtered and sat up the second the icy water hit him. He rolled out of bed and grumbled off to get dressed. Kagome pulled her wet hair up into her usual double buns and flopped onto the bed. They'd sent the luggage out earlier so there wouldn't be such a huge hassle. All they would have to carry was their backpacks. InuYasha came back into the bed room, fully dressed in jeans and a black t shirt, and sat down on the stool.

"Debandage me, doc." He jiggled his foot with the excitement of finally being freed of his wrappings as Kagome got out of the bed for the second time that morning. She unwrapped his arm first, then his nose.

"Your...your nose..." She gasped, her face the epitome of horror.

"What? What's wrong with it?" InuYasha began to worry. Hadn't it healed right?

"It's so...so...I just can't describe it..."

"What's wrong with it? Where's a mirror?" InuYasha threw his arms around Kagome and buried his face in her neck. "Please don't let me be ugly! I don't want to be screwed up this young!"

"Oh come off it, your nose is fine! I was just playing with you! You're so vain, InuYasha." Kagome pat his back awkwardly as he heaved a sigh of relief.

"Really? It's fine? You really had me going there for a while, wench." InuYasha let go of her and stalked over to his mirror, admiring his perfect nose.

"Get your pack and let's go; Miroku and Sango are waiting in the front hall." Kagome heaved her black bag onto her shoulder and waited for InuYasha. "We have to be at the airport in fifteen minutes so that we can check in. Why are we traveling in a regular plane? I know we have a private jet."

"Yeah, but it costs fifteen times as much to run that thing than it does to go first class. We only use the jet for over seas stuff." InuYasha followed Kagome down to the front door where, sure enough, Sango and Miroku were waiting.

……………………………………..

The group had already checked in and was in line to get their bags scanned. Security checks were always a hassle and today wasn't any different. InuYasha plunked his bag down on the scanner and stepped through the little archway when the buzzer sounded. Two guards confiscated his bag and were in the process of shoving him off to the side table before the rest of them knew it. One guard searched his bag; the other waved the wand over him.

"Sir, did you accidentally leave anything in your pockets that would set it off?" The man with the wand asked as he scanned it over InuYasha's legs.

"No damn it! I don't carry change or keys in my pocket. And be careful over there!" InuYasha yelled as he watched his CD player get carelessly tossed onto the table. Meanwhile Kagome, Sango and Miroku made it through the check without a hitch. They stood behind him and waited for the guards to find whatever they were looking for.

"Sir, could you please take off your bandana?" InuYasha's face flared with anger.

"No, I can't."

"Sir, you need to remove it."

"Do you know who I am?" He seethed.

"No and quite frankly I don't care to."

"I could have more lawyers on your ass than you could count!"

"Yeah, right. And who are you exactly, InuYasha of the Tamas?"

"Very good, you can recognize a face! Now let me through!"

"If you're InuYasha then prove it."

"Fine, whatever you want." InuYasha slipped his drivers license out of his pocket and showed it to the guard. "Now get the fuck out of my way."

"Sorry, we have to make sure you don't have any weapons on you first." InuYasha sighed, partly in rage, partly in exasperation.

"I think this is what you're looking for." Kagome reached into InuYasha's pocket and pulled out his emergency spoon. The security guard nodded and waved them on. "You and your spoons." Kagome huffed as the left the security check. InuYasha blushed, but puffed himself up.

"That security stuff is the biggest load of shit I've ever had to put up with." He stalked down the hallways of the airport, searching for their gate. He found the right area and flopped down in a chair. Sango and Kagome sat away from the guys and began to chat about a pair of shoes Sango had seen. Kagome finally turned the conversation to a different topic.

"So how's it going with Miroku?" She whispered.

"It's...okay, I guess. We do normal couple-ly things, like talk and go out to do stuff, but otherwise it's getting pretty repetitive. He hasn't kissed me since that first time and I'm worried."

"He kissed you at the breakfast table the other day."

"Yeah, but that was on the cheek. He hasn't actually given me any...well, lip action." Sango tried to find how to describe her problem.

"You need to make the move because I think he's afraid you'll pound on him if he tries anything new. Just an idea." Kagome said in an off handed way. Sango looked as if that was the best idea ever.

"Thanks! I'll bet you're right. Now tell me how it is with you and InuYasha? That was one hell of a hickey you had." Sango gave Kagome a superior smirk, making her blush.

"Really good. We talk all the time and have lots of fun." Kagome drifted off into her own world while Sango made a comment that brought her down to earth.

"And what about that mark, hmm? What could you two have been doing for him to make that?"

"Sango, you're awful! Miroku is rubbing off on you! Well, I was...napping and he decided to kiss my neck as hard as he could to wake me up. An interesting wake up call if you ask me." Kagome didn't want to let anyone know that she had been sleeping in InuYasha's room, much less his bed. She couldn't even imagine the ideas that could give people even when all they did was sleep and occasionally cuddle.

"Hey, I noticed you haven't been in your room when I go to bed lately. What have you been up to that late at night?" Sango asked curiously. Kagome paled; she was going to have to tell her or lie, which she really didn't want to do.

"Can I tell you later? I'll tell you as soon as we get there, I promise." There, she had neatly side stepped the question for now. Sango seemed to accept that as an answer. "This morning I pulled a really dirty trick on InuYasha..." She began to tell Sango about the nose prank until they were called to board.

……………………………………..

InuYasha and Kagome sat together in one row, Miroku and Sango right behind them. After much debate it was determined that InuYasha got the window seat, much to Kagome's disappointment. It was first class, so the seats were extra squishy and a meal would be served on board near the middle of the two hour flight. InuYasha had somehow put on a pair of head phones underneath his bandana and was listening quietly to his CD player. Miroku and Sango had decided to flip up their arm rest and take a nap together, leaving Kagome alone for the trip. She peered around the cabin, trying to find something to do. If all else failed she could annoy InuYasha, but that was a last resort. A little boy walked by her down the aisle, stopped, turned around and tapped her on the arm.

"Yes?" Kagome looked at the kid, who was staring in awe at the pair.

"Hi, I'm Sotoru. You're Kagome Higurashi aren't you?" He whispered.

"Yeah. Can you keep a secret?" Kagome leaned over conspiratorially. The boy nodded furiously. "The boy next to me is InuYasha." Now Sotoru's eyes widened to the width of saucers.

"Really? Could I… could I...could I get your autographs?" He chewed his lip nervously while Kagome laughed.

"Sure. Let me get him for because I think he's in la la land. He gets like that when he puts his headphones on." Kagome squeezed InuYasha's arm lightly and poked him in the side.

"Eh?" He blinked a few times before fully coming around.

"You got a pen? This kid knows who I am and wants our autographs." Kagome was grinning from ear to ear at the idea of someone knowing her name.

"Sure. Let me get one out here..." InuYasha dug around in his pocket before pulling out a pen. He found a sheet of paper in his backpack. "Name?"

"S-sotoru, sir."

"Don't bother with the sir thing. I'm only eighteen, you know. Here you go." InuYasha scribbled down a note and handed the paper to Kagome, who added her own message.

"Here Sotoru. Have a nice trip!" She ruffled the boy's hair before he took off to show his mother his new souvenir. "Do you get that a lot?"

"More than I'd like. Mostly it's girls wanting hugs and stuff. There was this one chick who flashed me a few months back though. When we get back we'll go through our fan mail and write some letters, which usually takes a few weeks." He shrugged and looked out to the aisle. "Food!"

The stewardess sat down trays in front of each of them before turning to leave. InuYasha grinned until he looked down at his meal. The steak was fried to a crisp, the mashed potatoes looked like glue, and he didn't even want to think about the carrots and peas.

"What is this?" He asked and took out his plastic knife and fork to attempt to cut the steak. He sawed away at the little hunk of meat, with no avail. No matter how hard he cut it just wouldn't give! "Fine, be like that!" InuYasha took one claw and tried to cut the steak. His nail broke off near the skin. "Fuck!" He yelled, getting some odd looks from the other passengers. InuYasha cradled his crippled finger and ripped off the broken part of the nail. "Kagome, you try cutting the damn thing, cause I can't get the piece of shoe leather to even crack."

"All right, just calm down. You can cuss all you want when we get to the room, just don't scar any small children while we're on the plane." Kagome reached over, tried to cut the meat, and promptly broke her plastic silverware. "Piece of shit!"

"And you said I was going to scar kids. I guess I'll just have to get out the rations." InuYasha bent over and pulled a jar of jam from his back pack. Kagome gaped as he pulled out a spoon and unscrewed the lid. "Oo unt um?" He'd already rammed a heap of it into his mouth. Kagome sighed and looked for another spoon. "Ere." He handed her a second utensil and she dug in.

……………………………………..

They left the airport and entered a world of snow and ice. A limo picked them up at the gate and sped down the road to a large ski lodge. They got out of the car and walked into the hotel to pick up their keys. The lodge was decorated in the usual alpine fashion, complete with a huge moose head on the wall. Sango took the keys from the clerk and lead the way back out the door to a stone path. After a few minutes they came upon a cabin in the woods. It was large and looked extremely cozy. They trooped inside to find that it was decorated in the same manner as the lodge. A huge fireplace sat on one wall with a bear skin rug in front of it. Most of the furnishings were wooden, as were the floors.

"Come on, Kagome! The bedrooms are up here!" Sango lead her up the stairs to a small hallway. "There's four bedrooms and bathrooms. We could take the adjoining ones if you want." Kagome nodded and allowed Sango to show her the room she would be living in for the next few days. It was small, but cozy.

"I wish I could stay here forever. It's so...romantic almost." Kagome dropped her things on the bed and opened the doors to check out the closet. It already had her things inside. "Perfect."

"Kagome, come on!" Sango poked her head through the adjoining door and motioned for her to come in. Kagome went into Sango's bedroom, which was basically the duplicate of her own. Sango sat down on the bed and leaned back. "Where have you been going at night? You promised!"

"Okay, I'll tell you, but," Kagome flopped down next to her. "You must swear on your Mark Hoppus signature series shell pink bass guitar that you never ever tell _anyone_ what I am about to tell you. I trust you because you are my very best friend and would never betray me."

"This must be big. I swear on my precious though. Now spill! I'm going crazy!"

"Don't squeal, all right?" Sango nodded as Kagome took a deep breath. "You know exactly how me and InuYasha kissed, right? Well, I wouldn't leave him alone that night since I was worried that he would get hurt. We stayed up all night talking and watching tv. He has a tv that comes out of his foot board! Anyways, it kind of developed into a thing. At night we watch movies and talk until we fall asleep. And no, we don't do anything else but share the bed. I think I'll stay here in my bed most of the time though so we can stay up and do girl stuff." Kagome finished her tale while Sango sat in complete silence.

"Lucky ass. If I stayed with Miroku like that he'd grope me. All you really do is sleep?" Sango sounded skeptical.

"Really! Okay, we've kissed once or twice, but we're so worn out from watching tv until three in the morning that we just lay down and we're asleep in seconds. Now your objective for tonight is to kiss Miroku. Can you do that since I told you my big secret?"

"I'll try." Sango sighed as Miroku poked his head in the door.

"Anyone up for some snow?" He asked. Sango and Kagome leapt up to get dressed in some warmer clothes. They were there, so why not have some fun?

……………………………………..

"What do we do first? There's skiing, sledding, snowboarding, ice skating, even tubing." Sango named off their options as they stood in the lobby of the lodge. All of them were dressed in heavy winter clothes and couldn't wait to get outside.

"Let's snowboard. We usually do that first every time we come up here anyways." Miroku walked off to rent some snowboards while the rest stayed behind.

"Umm, there's a small problem with that..." Kagome had blanched slightly.

"What?" InuYasha looked over at her, still fingering his nose. He'd been rubbing it constantly for the past day, admiring how well it had healed.

"I don't know how to snowboard."

"It's easy! We'll teach you." Sango pat her shoulder reassuringly as Miroku came back loaded with equipment. They headed out for the slopes. Everyone climbed into a ski lift that began to take them high up the slope. Kagome was worried. Why were they going so high? After a few moments they were getting off at the top of the mountain. Kagome could barely see the lodge below them. InuYasha walked over beside her and hooked his boots into the straps on the board.

"Why are we so high up?" Kagome asked as he showed her how to hook her boots in.

"Because this is what you'd most fear going down. If you can get down this hill, then you won't be scared to do the others. It'll be a breeze. Now to get going you do a little hop like this and to stop just swing the board out like so. It's like a riding a skateboard to turn." InuYasha wiggled around to demonstrate.

"Don't worry if you fall or swerve off course. InuYasha will get you before anything bad happens. He had to catch me several times before I could go down all by myself." Sango was clipped in and waiting to go. Miroku snuck one hand up behind her and was smacked immediately. "Hentai!"

"Yeah, Sango fell down every three seconds. She couldn't even stay on the rope tow right!" InuYasha laughed as he pulled a pair of goggles over his eyes. He'd already put on a hat to keep the cold out of his ears and hide his hair at the some time. The people here knew the group fairly well, but you never knew when an obsessed fan would show up. "Let's go." Kagome kicked off successfully and raced down the hill at a blistering speed. The wind whipped through her hair as she flew down the icy slope, making her grin with exhilaration. The ride was over all too soon as she met up with the rest of the group at the bottom.

"Good job; you didn't even slow down." Miroku congratulated Kagome on her skill. She'd taken to the sport easily and enjoyed every minute of it.

"Let's do it again!" She cried and raced for the lift.

They took the run a few more times until they were frozen to the bone and could hardly move. Miroku wisely suggested a cocoa break in front of the huge fireplace before the annual snowball fight. It was guys against girls, as always. Sango informed Kagome that the guys won every year and they really needed to beat them so they could take their egos down a notch or two. They returned the snowboards and bought some hot chocolate before retiring in front of the fire. Other guests seemed to have had the same idea and the lodge was packed.

"Okay! The rules are as follows:" Miroku officiated once they were back out in the snow. "One: You have ten minutes to build the best fort possible. Two: No snowballs containg anything like rocks or ice. Three: You can only win if the other side gives up or their fort has been leveled. Now let's have a snowball fight!" Sango and Kagome immediately set to work, Sango building the fort as large as possible, Kagome making as many snowballs as she could. The boys were using the same technique and their fort looked very impressive. After a while Miroku's watch sounded the ten minute mark, announcing the real beginning of the fight. "Ready? Set? GO!" Sango and Kagome hurled snow at the boys, who returned fire with their own artillery. The girls were getting creamed.

"What do we do?" Kagome yelled at Sango, who was hurtling snowballs as fast and as hard as she could.

"I don't know! We're being pummeled and I don't know how to stop them!" She grunted in reply. The wheels in Kagome's mind began to turn as a plan formed in her head.

"All right! I got it! Miroku didn't say anything about storming the fort, did he?"

"Nooo..."

"Then that's what we do! Grab as many snowballs as possible and charge on my count. One, two, Three!" The girls raced over to the boys' fort, throwing snow like mad women. The plowed through the fort and jumped on the guys, giving amazon screams. "Looks like we win!"

"No fair! You stormed us!" InuYasha said from beneath Kagome.

"All's fair in love and war. I believe we just covered war and passed with flying colors." Sango quoted smartly. Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Let's go in. It's almost sundown and I'm numb where no man should be." Miroku muttered from his position on the ground. Sango let him up and they took off for the lodge.

……………………………………..

Review Replies!

 Okay, I'm doing this a bit different. If you only said a sentence or just something about update soon, I'll put your name here as thanks. So very, very, big thanks to: karite, kool-kcc, Demonica Angelicus, pUmkInPiE , SesshysKitty, Sesshomarugrl, Shippo-can5532, kai/rei4ever, Tester, shyn, someone, unknown, Inuyasha-my-lover, DraGonMistress704. So much thanks to you guys!

Foxshadow: You now carry spoons? Cool! I'm an influence! (which may or may not be a bad thing…) And you idolize me? I…I feel so loved! I understand about the depression, if I don't have the computer on you know something's wrong. I love the fluff too! You always crack me up. I got the pics developed so I'll attempt ot remember to send them sometime. Ja!

Shrilyon: I'm not amazing. And I'm writing, I just haven't been able to post lately. Don't worry! I always will find a way to update if I get really desperate.

Shippochan17- You play? I play a bit, but I suck. Enough to know how to write this fic. I'm so glad you like it!

Joe: I'll take that as a compliment I guess…

Kagome's Reincarnation: Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it and I'm always up for suggestions.

Serinitay: My internet's been a bitch, but it's all fixed and I'm ready to post!

Krystal-Jade: Yeah, there's a plot. Before I get to it, I'm just solidifying relationships. Things are brewing beneath the surface and there's some foreshadowing to pick up on. Mostly about the media. The major plot will hit home soon though.

B.rouge: Yes, bengay and heat pads DO NOT mix. At all. Wait, you went and did it? Not cause you read this, did you? Now I feel bad! Jam is good!

Animepeep: Thanks! And yes, I like that song. Ta Ta For Now.

Tainted-miko: ho, god I gotta write 8 soon! Crap! Must gather thoughts…and if hot water doesn't work, nail polish remover gets out superglue every time! Lol! See ya later, prolly!

VIkiLei: Yes! Blink rocks! I feel awesome now!

Inuyashasgalpal: Don't go crazy! It's my computer's fault!

Xio the Dog Demoness: That's a tough one, but the second (?) movie does have some kinda relation to that.

Kaity: I never get tired of reviews! Ever! So don't quit!

Bana: Well, that should have cleared your question up. Next chapter: The tour bus! Jam is gooood…..

Jonathold: I laughed so hard! I do not take any classes. I didn't know there were classes for this. It just kinda happens. Half the time I don't even have a clue as to what I wrote until I go and read it since I get going so fast. I love having my time taken by reviews; it's a great use. It is hard to think of hippie endings now that I think about it. The sequel isn't even half done but it's pretty damn long already! Woohoo!

Babybunny01: It is funny isn't it? Dunno why either….

Crazy-kitsune: I don't think you'll wanna hit this person with a car. Maybe Kikyo…(hands you a Kikyo clone) Have fun!

BlackCat92: Kikyo, gods, I dunno when. This is 11 so no. 12, I don't think so. Maybe 13. I have no clue. Can't wait to read yours! (I'm one of the best? wipes off tear of joy I feel loved!)

SilentSlayer: Lotsa fun, oh yes…(looks evil)

Bloodbunny: Kag really does rock, doesn't she? I love her! Don't worry, there will be some more jam for InuYasha….

Quote of the Day!

"You sheep-fucker!" –My gran. It's her latest insult since she read the red tent. If she calls you that, beware.


	12. Broken Bones and Healed Hearts

I want to thank DragonMistess704. Your review changed the entire concert. Originally there was no song, but your review made me think…and here's what came out! Thanks so much for making the story better!

Sorry for the late-ish update. I've been busy here. In between learning Japanese and watching a baby story (you'll find out why I watched that in the sequel! Ohh! A bit of secrecy falls away there!) and doing a play, I've been crammed. Plus my internet has been messed up again. Here's your chapter tho!

……………………………………..

Kagome peered into Sango's room, making sure she was asleep before making the move to InuYasha's bed. She snuck out into the hall as quietly as possible and looked at the two doors that faced her. 'InuYasha said it was the one with the knot under the door knob, but I can't see it in the dark.' She thought and walked over to one of the doors to examine it more carefully. A hand shot out and pulled her into the room and Kagome found herself wrapped in familiar arms.

"I thought you'd never come." InuYasha said, his voice slightly muffled since he had buried his face in her neck.

"I always keep my promises though, don't I?" Kagome leaned against his chest as he planted kisses up and down her neck. He picked her up and carried her over to his bed and pulled back the blankets. InuYasha lay her down as gently as possible before climbing in next to her. He wrapped his arms around her again as they got comfortable beneath the covers.

"You're nervous about tomorrow, aren't you?" He asked. Kagome sighed in response, she was obviously worried. "Don't be scared, it's only a bunch of people listening. If you screw up they don't even care and you can't see them anyways because of the lights in your face. All you have to do is concentrate and you'll be okay."

"You think so?"

"I know it." Her heart did another flip as he kissed her neck again.

"Stop that or I'll never get to sleep." Kagome swatted at him playfully as he continued. "Seriously, you'll make another mark on my neck and everyone at the concert will see it." He sighed in a disappointed way and quit. "I wish we could stay here longer; three days is not enough. It's so nice here."

"Then I promise we'll come back after the tour and stay as long as you want. Until then you'll have to put up with sleeping on the bus. It'll be okay though, just wait. The bus has four beds, but they're all bunks so we probably won't get to sleep together for a while unless we sleep on the floor and say we just happened to pass out in each others arms. I don't think that'll fly though. Maybe I could sneak over to your bed sometimes. You'd have to lay on top of me because they're single beds, but I don't think you'd mind, would you?"

"Fine with me. Now get to sleep. I don't want to fall asleep in the middle of the show because you kept me up all night." Kagome scoot over so that she was closer to InuYasha and went to sleep.

……………………………………..

Sango knocked quietly on Miroku's door and waited for a reply. A muffled 'come in' came from the other side of the door and she stepped in. Miroku still had the light on and was reading a manga book as she sat down on the bed next to him.

"Yes?" He asked as he slid a bookmark into his page and sat the graphic novel down.

"Are you as nervous about tomorrow as I am?" Sango didn't want to reveal her true motive just yet.

"A bit, but we've done it before and can do it again. You aren't here to ask about that though, are you? I can tell since you've never feared a concert." Miroku turned to face her. Sango sighed and decided to come out with it.

"Miroku, you haven't actually kissed me since that one time and we've been together nearly a month. What's wrong?" She played with the blanket beneath her, hoping that he didn't want to break up with her or anything of that nature.

"I...I'm not really sure. I guess it's just that I'm a bit afraid that you'd be angry or something." Miroku struggled to find the words to describe how he felt.

"Oh. I'm never, ever angry with you. Maybe a little unhappy when you grope me, but that's because you're grabbing my ass for kami's sake. I don't mind if you kiss me, just if you grab my bum." Sango looked up to gauge his reaction. He still looked the same, exposing no emotion.

"Really?"

"Yes, and I have something else to ask..."

"What is it?"

"Would you...would you mind if I stayed here tonight, just to sleep, nothing else?"

"I'd love that." Miroku pulled back the blankets to allow Sango some room. She lay down on the pillow and got comfortable. "I promise not to do anything without your permission. I won't even lie facing you if you don't want me to." Sango rolled over and placed her head on his chest.

"I don't mind at all." She kissed him lightly. "Good night Miroku." He draped one arm over her and held her.

"Good night Sango."

……………………………………..

The group had rested all day so that they would have plenty of energy for what was coming that night. After they dressed, the usual limo came to pick them up and take them to the building where the concert would be held. It was a large arcade/bar/ restaurant. They were lead to their dressing room and allowed time to make their final preparations. The opening band was already walking onto to the stage when they arrived and people were crammed into the room. It was dark; the only lights were on the stage. A security guard opened the dressing room door and they all walked and sat down on the couch or in one of the chairs. InuYasha immediately dug into his pocket, pulled out a white substance and sat down in front of the mirror. He started to roll the stuff into an oblong shape between his palms, making Kagome wonder what he was up to.

"You don't do drugs, do you?" She asked tentatively as he continued to roll it around in his hands.

"No, dumbass. You know my ears are waaay better than yours, right?" He swiveled around in his seat to face Kagome. She nodded stupidly as he held out the white stuff. It turned out to be huge chunks of cotton. "If I didn't put something in my ears before we played I'd go deaf after two seconds. Ear plugs don't fit, so I have to be creative. What did you think I was going to do? Try to smoke cotton balls?" He laughed and began to stuff a wad into one ear, packed it down tightly and did the other ear, then pulled his black bandana down onto his head. "See? I can hear you some, but not too much. I'll be able to hear the same things on stage as you would if you didn't wear ear plugs. By the way, Miroku, did you pick up a pair for Kagome?"

"I could never forget your orders, master." Miroku replied sarcastically and pulled a small box out of his pocket. He flipped open the lid and handed a pair of plugs to Kagome and kept the others for himself. "Don't worry, they're new."

They sat in near silence for the next twenty minutes, waiting for their cue to go onstage. The signal finally came and they followed another guard to the stage. Kagome was close to being nerve sick by now. Sango pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. "You'll be fine. Just do the same thing we did in the studio. No one cares if you mess up; they just want to see you play." She winked as they made their entrance. They took their places and waited for InuYasha to begin.

Finally it was time for their last song. Kagome's heart was racing with sheer adrenaline. She found she loved playing for a crowd. InuYasha took another swig of water and spoke into the microphone. "This is our last song." He said. The crowed groaned. "I know, it sucks. This is dedicated to Kagome. She's been in the band a whole month now."

"It's been the most terrifying month of my life. You know how tough it is to live with him?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah, but you loooove me." InuYasha said. Kagome rolled her eyes. "Now, I'm sure all of you know about our relationship. Hell, you guys know everything before us. Me, Sango, and Miroku are gonna play this. Kagome, you can stand back and listen. Now, I changed the lyrics a bit to fit the situation, but it's one you all know." InuYasha strummed up a familiar rift, making Kagome go white in the face. He leaned up to the mic and began to sing.

"She's a fast machine

She keeps her motor clean

She is the best damn woman I have ever seen

She has these sightless eyes

Telling me no lies

Knockin' me out with those Japanese thighs

Taking more than her share

Had me fighting for air

She told me to come but I was already there

'Cause the walls start shaking

The earth was quaking

My mind was aching

And we were making it and you -

Shook me all night long

Yeah you shook me all night long"

Kagome blushed furiously. The crowd has broken out into a mix of laughter (probably at her face) and singing along. InuYasha began again.

"Working double time

On the seduction line

She is one of a kind, she's just mine all mine

She wanted no applause

Just another course

Made a meal out of me and came back for more

Had to cool me down

To take another round

Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing

'Cause the walls were shaking

The earth was quaking

My mind was aching

And we were making it and you -

And knocked me out and then you

Shook me all night long

You had me shakin' and you

Shook me all night long

Yeah you shook me

Well you took me

You really took me and you

Shook me all night long

Ooooh you

Shook me all night long

Yeah, yeah, you

Shook me all night long

Your really took me and you

Yeah you shook me, yeah you shook me

All night long"

He finally finished. Kagome was red as a beet. "Thank you! Good night!" He called and they walked off the stage. After getting out into the dressing room InuYasha burst into laughter. "You...you shoulda seen your face!"

"InuYasha! You're giving them ideas! We haven't done…that!" Kagome sputtered.

"But it was so damn funny! I've had that in my head for weeks!"

Kagome punched him in the shoulder. "You're going to be the death of me."

"You'll die a happy woman then." InuYasha smirked at her. Kagome couldn't help but forgive him. It was kind of funny.

……………………………………..

Kagome and InuYasha sat in the living room of the cabin, InuYasha still fingering his nose. Kagome watched, getting more irritated by the minute,

"If you don't stop playing with your nose, I'll break it again!" She huffed at him. He only rubbed it harder.

"Feh! You couldn't. You don't have the strength." He replied.

"I did it to my brother and I can sure as hell do it to you."

"If you can, why don't you?" He highly doubted she could bruise him, let alone break his bones.

"Because I don't want to listen to you cry about it."

"Number one: I don't cry when I get hurt. Number two: I don't think you will because you can't." InuYasha challenged.

"I can and would, but I don't want to make you cry."

"Chicken! Do it, it'll just heal up if you can even crack the bone." He gave her a snotty, superior look. That was the last straw.

"Fine! Are you sure you want me to?"

"Bring it on, wimp." Kagome reached out and grabbed his nose, then twisted as hard as she could.

_Snap_.

"Aw, fuck!"

……………………………………..

"I'm so sorry! InuYasha, please forgive me!" Kagome pleaded as they raced down the road. InuYasha had borrowed a woman's car since she'd happily handed it over to the young star. He drove at breakneck speed as blood poured form his nose for the second time that month.

"It's okay, I told you to do it since I didn't think you could and I got my just rewards. I'll never doubt your strength again." He said as they swerved around a corner.

"You aren't mad? Most people would be so angry right now..." She played with her zipper nervously. He was being so calm for having just had his girlfriend break his nose on purpose.

"I'm not mad. I love you too much to be mad, especially since I'm a total idiot. Sesshomaru's gonna kill me..." He drove through a red light as he raced to the hospital.

"What? Say...say that again..."

"I'm not mad, or Sesshomaru's gonna kill me, because each those is very different."

"No, the other thing."

"I love you too much to be mad?"

"Y-you love me?"

"What did you think, I allow you to sleep in my bed, eat my food, jam especially, and I bought you a guitar. I don't hate you if I do that." He reached up with one hand to wipe his face off. He liked the shirt he was wearing and really didn't want to stain it.

"I love you too." Kagome whispered.

"I'd kiss you right now, but I really want to keep my eyes on the road so we don't wreck and I don't want to bleed on you." He pulled up next to the emergency door and parked the car. InuYasha leapt out and strode off for the sliding doors, Kagome trailing behind. "You can do whatever you want with me when I get re-bandaged. Oi! I'm back again." He shouted to the nurse at the desk. She smiled and waved.

"A broken nose? You don't have to fill out the paperwork right now. Dr. K will see you in room 15." She went back to her paperwork as InuYasha was allowed to go ahead of the other patients.

"They know you here?" Kagome hissed as he walked calmly down the hall. He seemed to know the place pretty well.

"Every time I visit I end up with an injury of some sort from snow boarding and have to come..." He opened a door and heaved himself onto the bed in a routine manner. Kagome shook her head and sat down in a chair across from him. She was pale and nearly shaking. "Get up here; you look like you're going to have a heart attack." He patted the empty space next to him and Kagome hopped up reluctantly. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to his side. She laid her head on his shoulder as they waited for the doctor to come in.

The door to the room opened and an elderly woman stepped in. A patch was over her eye, her hair was tied back from her wrinkled face and she carried a clipboard in one hand.

"Two patients? InuYasha, you didn't get this girl pregnant and she broke you nose, did you? Or has she forgiven you with the way she's got her head on your shoulder? Either way I can bandage you up and give her some vitamins to take, but otherwise I'm no relationship counselor." The old doctor bustled about, gathering bandaging and tape. Kagome hadn't said a word, but had turned from white to red faster than she thought was possible.

"Kaede, she's not pregnant. I'm only eighteen; I know better, plus I don't want any pups soon." Kagome snorted at his side.

"What's so funny?" He wiped his face off on the back of his hand again.

"Sorry, I just forgot that demons call their kids pups or whelps. I think it's cute. But go on, you were saying you knew better." InuYasha shook his head and continued.

"She broke my nose because I was being vain and stupid and she sitting here because I was afraid she was going to have a heart attack she was so pale. Now she's fairly red, so I don't know. "

"Good job; take his over inflated ego down a notch." Kaede congratulated Kagome and looked InuYasha over. "I'm Kaede, a specialist in InuYasha care. I'll just fix this up and send you home like always." She stopped the blood easily and began to fix his nose. It was strange to watch the old woman, who was clearly less than five feet tall, reach up to the tall hanyou's face. InuYasha was close to six feet and his brother was even taller. "Here, you ruffian, wipe yourself off." Kaede wet a paper towel and handed it to him. He wiped off the back of his hand and his face, and then tossed it into the garbage from where he sat.

"You done with me, baba, or are you going to give me a lecture on how stupid I am?" InuYasha jumped down from the table and looked over at Kaede.

"You're done. I'll do the paper work for you since I know you're probably busy. You need a keeper, InuYasha, and I think Kagome would probably be able to handle you properly. If he gets stupid, just break another bone since he heals up perfectly each time. Now get out of here so I can deal with my other patients." Kaede shooed them out the door, Kagome giggling and InuYasha looking rather pissed.

"Don't worry, I don't think I could break you again." Kagome said as they walked out to the car. InuYasha swept her up in a passionate kiss before she got in.

"I told you I'd kiss you and there you are. Now let's get going. Sesshomaru is going to be mad as it is and if we're late I might find myself impaled on his hand again." InuYasha started the car and took off at breakneck speed.

……………………………………..

InuYasha and Kagome arrived at the cabin as quickly as they had left. He turned the car over to the valet to return it to its owner. A large tour bus was sitting outside of the cabin and being loaded with bags. A new car was there also, just like InuYasha's own convertible, except it was black. The entered the house to find Sesshomaru inside, accompanied by a young woman. She was shorter than Kagome, but appeared to be the same age. Her black hair was cropped short and a pair of jeans with a black t shirt graced her lean frame.

"Hi, I'm Kagome. Who're you?" Kagome walked up to the girl and introduced herself.

"I'm Rin, Sesshomaru's wife." She smiled shyly at Kagome.

"Wow, you look really young. I thought you were his daughter or something!"

"I'm fresh out of high school. We've been married for less than a year now, but I'm really happy. He's nicer than he seems, aren't you?" Rin tugged a lock of Sesshomaru's hair playfully and he grinned back.

"He sounds a lot like InuYasha in that way. When we first met, I thought he was the biggest jerk ever, but now I've found out that he's a better guy than he makes himself out to be." Kagome winked at Rin, hinting at their relationship. She smiled in return.

"What happened to your nose, brother of mine?" Sesshomaru remarked coolly. He was still wearing t-shirts and jeans like the day at the studio. Kagome thought he'd be more business-like, but she was obviously wrong.

"Oh, he was messing with it to much this morning, so I broke it. Homemade nose job!" Kagome announced, shocking the group.

"Don't look so freaked out. She's not lying. I kind of deserved it though." InuYasha shrugged. "I'll be fine in a couple of days. Are we going on tour or aren't we?" They all trooped out to the bus and got in, even Rin and Sesshomaru. "You two are coming?"

"Yup! Me and Sesshomaru will be taking the bed room and you guys can have the bunk beds, unless there's some romance going on that would make you prefer otherwise?" Rin asked slyly. The couples all blushed and shook their heads furiously.

The bus was as luxurious as the house. It was carpeted, decorated and comfortable to the max. Kagome and Sango claimed the top bunks, forcing the boys to sleep on the bottom. Once they were situated the bus took off for the open road. The girls sat down to chat while the male half of the group flopped down on couches or, in InuYasha's case, the floor. The girls sat down in the booth that served as the dining table.

"I know there's romance in this band; all I want to know is who's with who?" Rin whispered, so as not to be overheard. Kagome spoke up first.

"Me and InuYasha are together and Sango and Miroku are too. Say, how'd last night go Sango?"

Sango blushed lightly before answering. "We talked and it turns out that he was afraid I'd be mad if he tried anything and I ended up staying the night."

"Really?" Rin was intrigued by the developments that she had missed. "How about you and InuYasha, Kagome?"

"We've been sharing a bed for about a week now. Guess what?" Kagome smiled excitedly.

"What?" The two other girls asked in unison.

"He told me he loved me today!" Kagome gushed. Rin and Sango sighed happily.

"You're so lucky Kagome! I wish Miroku would tell me that one day." Sango looked over at her sleeping boyfriend.

"I might end up with a sister." Rin was pleased at the news. Kagome had a question that was itching her and she couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Rin, is Sesshomaru very...romantic? He just seems kind of emotionless at times."

"He's great! It might not seem like it, but he's a little bit shy when it comes to love, but he's really open when you get to know him. We met through a friend and it was love at first sight. We were married a few months later and couldn't be happier."

"For Kagome and InuYasha it was love at first fight." Sango remarked. They all laughed. That was InuYasha. "Look at them, the lazy asses." She looked at the boys once more. All of them were asleep, snoring lightly.

"I think it's make over time." Rin suggested. Kagome and Sango nodded in agreement and hauled out their makeup bags. They each tip toed over and considered what type of look to give their guy. All three of them set to work after some debate. They'd be shocked when they woke up!

Rin had given Sesshomaru a look reminiscent of Christina Aguilera in the music video for Lady Marmalade. Pink eye shadow and heavy eyeliner coated his eyes, a deep rouge blush covered his cheeks and purple lipstick was on his mouth. On top off all of it was heaps of glitter and other sparkles. Sango had gone for more of a traditional little girl in mommy's makeup look, with heavy blue eye shadow, red lips and dark rouge. InuYasha was truly unique though. Kagome had chosen more of a visual kei look, making his entire face pure white and then adding the wildest makeup possible. His eye shadow was a light blue and beneath his eyes she had used eyeliner to draw an interesting lightning bolt design coming down his cheeks from his lower eyelids. His lips were an aqua blue, lined in black. She had even added some rhinestones to the corners of his eyes. All of them had braided and pony tailed hair.

"Kagome, you definitely get the originality award. Our poor boys look like whores compared to your guy. Now the only thing to do is act innocent while we wait for them to wake up." Rin put her bag away and sat back down at the table.

……………………………………..

Heheh, wonder how the guys will react…

Review Replies!

Big thanks to: pogo, GarnetGirl, animedemon, jc, Vikilei, Stacey, gothic InuYasha, InuKagFan, Asinya de sweetest sin, Starblade 5, Angel81, Kate, twilightshadow, Kagome MK, animepeep, babybunny01, massiel, Xio the Dog Demoness, InuYashasgalpal, Rocky,

Kyuuka Kitsune: When I read that I almost fell outta my chair! You want tips from me?! Okay, I'll try my best. Here's three things I can suggest: 1) Update when you want to. As long as you don't disappear for months, it's okay. I hate when authors put up several     chapters and then don't post anything for months. That's why I finish my fics before I post them; then I don't have to worry about writer's block holding me up. 2) If you aren't having fun, it's not worth it. Don't continue a fic that you don't enjoy writing. Afterall, we write because we find it fun, right? 3) Write what you know, and if you don't know about it, research! I take so much of my writing from life; you wouldn't believe how many of these conversations really have happened. And if you don't know everything about what you're writing about, find out some stuff. (I've spent more time watching a baby story lately…) 4) Beta's are great! They really help when you aren't sure what to do next. Tainted-miko is my beta and is now one of my best friends. I get more done now, even though we get off track when we talk… 5) You might think it sucks, but other people might love it! If you write a chapter and think, ugh this will never blow over well, nine times out of ten you're wrong. I have a huge tendency to doubt my work (Cough I suck cough) but when I post it more people like it then I thought! I honestly thought that no one would ever review this story and look at me now! I still get amazed when there's reviews in my inbox. Life is full of surprises. That's about all I can think of. I dunno if it helps you any but I hope you got something from it. (ps- I read some of your story and I love it! Keep up the good work!)

Chaoticsoranma: Um, I'll take that as something good? Anyhow, welcome to my wildly goofy world!

Foxshadow: Looking for those pics…should find them any day now….

Eartha: Yeah, it's scary isn't it?

Cannonballboy: You're my 200th reviewer! Yay! I hope you like it!

KrystalJade: I love responding! It's cool to see what people say and answer questions. I don't know why more authors don't do it. Plus, one review can change a fic.

TRunK-LoVEr: Heheh, silverware is cool. Never know when you need a spoon! You hope to be as good as me? eyes widen No way!

B.rouge: Sango isn't a chicken after all! The nose thing would be something I'd do to someone…phew! I'm glad I didn't influence you to inflict pain on yourself! Curious Hamsters…hmm, could give ol' George a run for his money….

DragonMistress704: See top of page.

Phsycho-Sk8ter-Girl- Yum! Thanks! You play? Wow, so many people do! I never had any idea that so many reviewers were musically talented. (unlike me…)

pUmpkIn-PiEe: They'll be happy for a while….

Crazy-kitsune: Hey, you quit speaking in third person! I loved your site; that is awesome. I love responding!

Unknown: Muwhahahahahaha! You'll see…..

Clover16: I can't wait til you update!

Jonathold: Damned Bill gates and Nixon messing with my computer…and those damn hippies! I know, it sucks when people don't update! I try to update at least once a week. Nope, my birthday is not in June. But happy Christmas in July. (the stores by my house already have the ornaments out! Noooo!) Try writing a fic, I wanna read. It might not be as Disney as you think. Pirates of the Carribbean was excellent; I can't wait for the sequel. I listen to some Kiss. I prolly know those songs, but just don't know that those are the titles. (that is also the longest paragraph I've seen in my life!) I leave you with a quote from the blink 182 song, give me one good reason:' Hate the jocks, the preps, the hippie fuckin' scumbags.' Til next review!

SilentSlayer: Ohh, you have psychic powers…..

Shriloyn: Fluff you want? There is minor fluff in every chapter for a while!

BlackCat92: Muses are a pain. They take vacations at all the wrong times.

Shippochan17: There aren't many, are there? I feel original! I'll persevere at the guitar, I suppose…

Bana: By golly, thanks! I'm so glad; I finally have a thing! I've needed a hobby for a while. Thanks! I try not to get OOC.

Sesshomarugrl: There you have your answer!

Bloodbunny: He didn't sneak into her room, but he was ready to! Jam is a running theme here….

Quote of the Day!

"What the fuck is he talking about?" –My gran.


	13. Gifts

sighs I hate it when this happens. Does anyone out there know where to find this one fic? It was called MY Immortal and other songfics, but obviously it's been changed or somethin' cause I can't find it any more. It used the Evanescene song My Immortal and it was like Kagome had died or left but it turned out InuYasha was only dreaming and none of it had ever happened.

……………………………………..

Sesshomaru's eyes cracked open. His face felt...heavy and weighed down. He looked over at Miroku and InuYasha, who were both sporting new makeovers. He laughed quietly and chose to ignore the feeling since he was probably just tired. He saw Rin sitting at the table using her laptop and walked over. "What're you up to?" He asked and sat down next to her.

"Just trying to check my email. Ayame emailed me and said that she's going to America for a week. Did you notice the makeovers that we gave the guys?" She asked absently. She was trying to contain her laughter at her husband's face. He hadn't even noticed!

"They're such pretty boys. I'm off for a quick shower." He wandered off to the bathroom.

"Wait for it...wait for it....here it is!" Rin giggled as she heard his scream.

"RIN!"

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"You did this, didn't you?"

"Maybe."

"Remind me to sleep with one eye open from now on." He turned on the shower to wash his face. Now the girls were all out laughing, causing InuYasha and Miroku to wake up.

"Huh?" InuYasha wiped his eyes tiredly, causing his makeup to smear all over his hands. "Shit! What did you guys do to me?" He looked over at Miroku and grinned. "Nice face there. Thinking of earning a few bucks from standing on the street corner?"

"Look at yourself, goth boy." The two took off for the shower, not knowing it was already occupied by Sesshomaru. An "OUT!" and two "oofs!" sounded from the back of the bus, making the girls positively howl with delight. InuYasha and Miroku returned, still in full makeup, and sat down with the girls.

"Always remember: payback is hell." InuYasha said solemnly.

"Oooh, I'm scared Mister I have a broken nose and teal lipstick on." Sango joked, making InuYasha scowl. Sesshomaru returned from the bathroom fully cleaned and InuYasha sped off to shower. Miroku had to go last since either of the demon brothers could outstrip him any day. InuYasha was in and out quickly and it was finally Miroku's turn.

"Thank kami." he said before gathering his towels.

Later that evening the boys found the girls in the same state as they had been only a few hours ago. Sesshomaru looked them over and thought of what to do. The wheels in his mind turned as he came up with a cruel idea. "Do you have any black markers around here?" He asked. Miroku got out his drawing set and retrieved three markers. "Just enough. I think the females need to try a bit of their own medicine." InuYasha and Miroku grinned as they realized what Sesshomaru was thinking of.

"I didn't know you could be so childishly vindictive brother." InuYasha said as he uncapped his marker and snuck over to Kagome.

"Consider it a hidden talent." Sesshomaru was already working on Rin's face. After some quick work, each girl had received a mustache with a complimentary unibrow and glasses. Miroku produced a camera and snapped some pictures before settling back to admire their work.

Moments after they had finished, Rin awoke. She looked at the other girls and sighed. "Ladies, I think we've been repaid." She said. Kagome and Sango got up and looked in the mirror. The guys were howling with laughter as they girls tried furiously to scrub off their marker accessories. It took three bottles of soap and the better part of an hour to remove the marker. Faint grey lines remained to fade off, but they were gone for the most part. Kagome caught Sango as they were leaving the bathroom.

"I might sneak down to InuYasha tonight. If I do, make sure Miroku and Sesshomaru don't find out. I'll close my curtain and InuYasha's, just in case." The bunk beds each had a curtain you could shut for privacy, like on old trains.

"Sure." Sango whispered. They decided to change into their pajamas early and watch a movie before bed. The bus had a large tv in it so they could watch television or play games. Rin made popcorn and they sat down on the couches to watch the show.

……………………………………..

Kagome closed her curtain and got down off the ladder that lead to the top bunk. She made sure that everyone else was asleep before crawling into InuYasha's bed. The beds were as small as he had said and it turned out she really would have to lie on top of him.

"This is...interesting." Kagome muttered as she tried to close the curtain behind her. InuYasha shut it after some wiggling. "Maybe if you lay on your side I could lay next to you." He rolled over and ended up falling out of the compartment with a loud thump. Miroku poked his head out of his own curtain.

"I fell out of the damn thing. Remind me to tell Sesshomaru that we need a better bus." InuYasha growled before attempting to get back inside. Kagome was giggling insanely as he slipped back in. "Find that funny, eh?"

"Extremely."

"I think you'll have to lie on top of me or get out, because it'll be impossible to do it any other way." Kagome finally gave up and lay on top of him as he threw the blankets over them. "Did I ever tell you why Kikyo and I broke up?"

"No."

"I'll tell you then. Kikyo and I had known each other for a long time and were dating, not seriously or anything, just as friends, until she found out that I was a hanyou. She didn't really want anything to do with me then; she thought half demons were pretty worthless. She continued to go out with me for some reason until I found out she was seeing someone else on the side. I confronted her about it and she just up and dumped me before I could do anything. I was pretty hurt for a long time until she up and left the band. I found a note in her room and she was gone. I don't know where she is now or what's she's doing either." They sat in silence for a while until Kagome decided to speak up.

"Did you love her?" He thought for a while before answering.

"No. No, I didn't. I think she might have kissed me once, but it was on the cheek so I don't count that one. I thought I might have been able to love her if she'd get over her hang up about me being hanyou, but she never did. I guess that makes you my first real girlfriend and my first real love. You're much better than she ever was or could have been and I'm so much happier." He smiled at Kagome, who kissed him in reply. "Are you worried about the next concerts?"

"Not anymore. How many cities are left?"

"Not many. We'll be back in Tokyo before you know it. We're only stopping at Kyoto and Nagasaki before doubling back and going home. We'll do a concert in Tokyo and then we're done until Sesshomaru finds us some small shows to do. I think we'll be home in about two weeks at the slowest. In the morning we'll be past Tokyo and near Kyoto, so it might be even sooner if we hurry. Why? Don't like tour life?"

"No, I was just curious. May as well go to sleep now since there isn't much else to do. Good night." Kagome whispered and lay her head on InuYasha's chest, then fell asleep.

……………………………………..

The concert in Kyoto was fast. They only spent the night there before heading to Nagasaki. After Nagasaki they were home again and unpacking. The rest of the trip had been quite boring since all they did was sleep all day, play video games and play at night. Kagome rolled out of InuYasha's bed one morning and noticed he wasn't there. 'Odd. He's usually the last one in the house to wake up.' She thought and stumbled up the stairs to her room so that she could get her clothes. A small package lay on her desk, accompanied by a card. She picked up the card and read the front.

_Kagome,_

_I know valentine's day was five months ago, but I couldn't wait until next year. So happy July 14! Now read the inside!_

She grinned and opened up the card to find a quote from on of her favorite songs inside, written in InuYasha's tidy hand.

_"So here's your valentine,_

_bouquet__ of clumsy words,_

_a__ simple melody._

_This world's an ugly place,_

_but__ you're so beautiful to me._

_Love, InuYasha._

_ps- now open your package._

She put the card back down on the desk and picked up the box. It was small and wrapped lilac colored paper. She ripped off the wrapping and found a small cardboard bow inside. After digging around in the styrofoam peanuts she found her gift. It was a silver frame with a picture of InuYasha and herself that Sango had taken a few weeks back at InuYasha's request. They were sitting together on his balcony, the sun setting behind them. On the bottom there was something engraved. She looked closer and found it said 'It's times like these you learn to love again'. She stared at the picture for a few moments until a piece of paper in the box caught her eye. Kagome lifted it up and unfolded it.

_Kagome,_

_It seems like you didn't just throw away the box after you opened it if you're reading this. What I really wanted to tell you couldn't fit on the picture frame and I'm too tongue tied to just come out and say it, so I decided to write it down instead. (I really hope you're reading this since I'd never be able to say it without messing it up, so here it goes) I chose the quote for a reason. I knew you liked it for one, but ever since you came to the house I've found out that I can love again. When my parents died I shut myself off from the world and became so angry. I was miserable and refused to let anyone help me or talk with me about my problems. Miroku and Sango came around and I opened up some, but I was still kind of closed off. Even when Kikyo came I didn't really change. Maybe that's why she left me aside from the hanyou thing. Anyways, not to dwell on the past, you came around and I changed a lot. There was always this little piece of me that I thought was missing, like a hole in my heart. You filled it. I've never told anyone about my parents or showed them the photo album, hell, I doubt anyone but you knows about it. I just want you to know that you've changed my life (for the better!) and I'm so much happier now. I love you more than you know and I hope you feel the same way. I've learned to love because of you and I'll always be grateful for that no matter what._

_InuYasha_

_ps- (It seems like I put one of these at the end of everything) If you liked it, go find me and tell me now._

Kagome had sat down on her bed as she read the letter. Her hands shook as she read it; it was more than she could take. She jumped off her bed and set off down the hall, calling for InuYasha like there was no tomorrow. She found him standing in the kitchen, still in his boxers, spooning jam into his mouth. Kagome jumped on him from behind, wrapping her legs around him as he gagged on his jam. He'd talked Sango into making some more and was rapidly consuming it.

"I loved it!" She said into his neck as he swallowed his jam. He smiled and sat down his snack.

"I thought you would. You didn't just throw away the box after you opened it, did you?" He asked, Kagome still on his back.

"No, I'm smarter than that. That was wonderful of you to say. Now I have to find something to give you! How am I ever going to equal up to that?" Kagome asked as she jumped down so that she could see his face. InuYasha wrapped her in a strong hug before answering.

"You don't have to get me anything. If you care, my birthday's in a couple of weeks. The twenty-fourth."

"I thought you were already eighteen?"

"I'm going to be nineteen, wench. Unless you go for younger men..." He left his sentence to hang and Kagome poked him in the side.

"No, If I did I'd feel find of like a perv." She replied.

"Someone talking about me behind my back? I heard the word perv and that usually means me." Miroku walked into the kitchen and began to search for a snack.

"We weren't talking about you, we were talking about the fact that my birthday is in a couple of weeks and I don't want a big deal made out of it. I want food and maybe a new cd, but that's it. Nothing big because if I really want something I'll buy it with my own money, got it?" InuYasha stated firmly.

"If you say so boss...now where did that box of cookies go?" Miroku was looking franticly for his treat while InuYasha shifted from foot to foot. "You ate them, didn't you?"

"I...I was hungry! You can buy more if you want. While you're out, pick me up a couple of things of ramen and some pocky. And don't forget to get some ice cream!"

"I'm not leaving the house to go food shopping for you. I have better things to do." Miroku replied indignantly. Kagome snorted loudly.

"Yeah, like grope Sango and ask some girls to bear your child?" She said.

"How did you know that?" Kagome groaned in exasperation and left the kitchen to find Sango and give her a heads up on Miroku's plans. She needed to know what InuYasha would want for his birthday and what kind of party to throw for him. Sango was absently watching tv in the living room when Kagome came in.

"Sango, what should I get InuYasha for his birthday?" She sat down next to her friend on he couch. Sango merely stared silently at the screen. "Hello? Sango? Earth to Sango! What are you watching?"

"Something Miroku was watching a while back. It's American but I understand a lot of it. I think that guy is sleeping with his cousin, but I could be wrong..." Sango was fixated on the screen as the people on the show screamed and tried to punch one another. Security guards held them back, but they still got in a smack every now and then. Kagome huffed and turned of the show.

"I'm serious! What does InuYasha want for his birthday? He's going to be nineteen, so it can't be that hard to find something...can it?"

"He's always wanted a dog if that helps. Maybe you could get him that. Or a shirt. I honestly don't know since he already has everything."

"That isn't too much help, but thanks for trying. What about a party? He said he didn't want anything big, so I was thinking just us, Rin and Sesshomaru having dinner and dessert at his favorite restaurant. What do you think?"

"Sounds good. Want to go party shopping? We could take the limo and be out all day. Maybe Rin could come!" Sango pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number for Sesshomaru's apartment. "Rin? You want to go shopping? See you there!"

"This is going to be great!"

……………………………………..

The girls met up at a large store that was stocked with party supplies from floor to ceiling. They had every decoration for every theme you could think of.

"We'll be going to a restaurant for dinner, so we don't need to worry about that. I think we should eat dessert at home, that way we could do cake and gifts privately. I guess Totosai would bake the cake unless we feel crafty. What do you think?" Rin said as she looked at the different aisles, trying to decide where to go first.

"I think he should bake the cake, but first we need to decide how to decorate the house, if we do anything. How about just something simple? As long as there's plenty of food he'll be happy." Kagome suggested. They all agreed on that fact.

After about an hour of shopping they ended up buying a few balloons and wrapping paper to match. They left for the pet store so Kagome could pick her gift. There were reams of animals in the place, but they found the dog section easily. There were tons of dogs to choose from, but Kagome picked out the one she thought he'd like. It was a male chocolate lab, still a puppy and just as energetic as their favorite hanyou. They made arrangements to pick up the dog on the day of the party and headed for home.

……………………………………..

The dinner had been quite like every dinner they had: loud and with enough food to feed an army. Miroku attempted to crack onto one of the waitresses and was promptly cracked over the head by Sango. He still couldn't resist getting an occasional grope in. They returned to the house late in the evening since InuYasha seemed to have ordered one of everything on the menu. He said he just wanted to take advantage of the fact that Sesshomaru was paying. Kagome lead InuYasha into the dining room that they had decorated so that they could start cake and presents. Totosai's cake was a masterpiece, artfully made with three layers and decorated with some rather odd items. He hadn't thought icing roses were appropriate for a nineteen year old male, so had somehow made the edging shaped like swords. They were nearly finished with their meal when Kagome decided to ask something that had been bothering her.

"InuYasha, why did you want a really small party? You seem more like the type to throw a huge bash."

"Well," he began "Miroku decided last year that he would surprise me by inviting three hundred people over for the evening. The house ended up trashed and the maids made us clean it all up or else they'd quit. I was shoveling up empty soda cans at three am on my birthday." Miroku grinned sheepishly while InuYasha continued to eat his third slice of cake. Kagome stood up and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"Save room for later." She said before leaving to retrieve the gifts. InuYasha, always the curious one, shoved away his half eaten piece and declared himself finished. Kagome returned laden with presents, set them down in a pile next to him and went back to her chair. InuYasha ended up getting some manga and anime from Miroku, a set of guitar accessories from Rin and Sesshomaru, and a box of jam from Sango. As he was pulling out the last jar of jam he noticed another small box. He unwrapped it and found a spoon inside. His name was engraved on the handle and the edges were trimmed in gold.

"If you're going to carry eating utensils and eat my jam you're going to do so in style." Sango declared as he pulled out his spare spoon and replaced it with the new one. Kagome disappeared once more and came back with a small brown puppy in her arms.

"Happy birthday! Sango said you wanted a dog, so I got you one. It's a boy and there's a leash and stuff in the other room." She handed him the dog, who was wagging his tail insanely, and stood back to watch his reaction. InuYasha was grinning from ear to ear and petting his new dog.

"Thanks! I never got around to buying a pup and I always wanted one! This is one of the best gifts I've ever gotten; much better than the underwear Sesshomaru gave me once." InuYasha cradled the puppy in one arm and kissed Kagome soundly.

"Oh, get a room you two! Every time I turn around I find you making out in a corner, and if it isn't a corner then it's the kitchen, or the hall, or the rec room! I think I found you in my bathroom once! I'm not going to even ask what you were doing in there to begin with, but come on!" Sesshomaru scolded. The couple blushed and returned to their seats. InuYasha began playing with the dog and Kagome decided that it'd be a good time to clear her place.

Rin and Sesshomaru left around midnight, saying they needed to get home before they passed out at the table. Sango and Miroku crept off to bed; they had begun sharing a bed like InuYasha and Kagome. InuYasha was in his room changing into his pajamas when Kagome entered. She too was ready for bed, but she carried a tiny cake in her hands. It was just enough for two people and had a candle stuck in the top.

"I told you to save room for later for a reason. I went through hell to bake this for you, so you'd better like it. Totosai was breathing down my neck the entire time, telling me what I could be doing better. It was from a box of cake mix for kami's sake! You follow the directions and it comes out right most every time, but no-o! You don't put in that many eggs, this many is better!" InuYasha laughed as Kagome sat down next to him on the bed.

"That's Totosai. I tried to cook for myself when I was young and dumb, but I learned it's easier to just let him make it, even if it's only milk and cereal. Thanks though! Butter recipe chocolate is the best." He blew out the candle and they began to eat, merely digging into the cake together. InuYasha set the empty plate down on his nightstand; he'd clean it up in the morning. "This has been the best birthday I've ever had. I got a dog, food, a spoon, more food, and the love of my life with me. Perfect." He leaned forward and kissed Kagome, wrapping his arms around her waist and running his fingers through her hair. He ran his hands slowly down her back and she shuddered. Kagome returned the act, her own hands running over his chest, exploring the strong muscles. They kept up for a few moments until he pulled away. "Stay with me tonight." He whispered into her ear, his lips traveling down the side of her neck leaving her with a pleasant tingling sensation.

"But I do every night." Kagome replied, slightly puzzled. She thought dumbly for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant. They'd talked about something like this happening a while ago, but she wanted to be sure she knew what he was saying.

"For a different reason."

Something in her mind clicked as he continued to kiss her neck. She understood now and already knew her answer. "All right." She said before pulling the curtains around them.

……………………………………..

Note about chapter 12: I didn't write that song! Lots of you think I did cause I forgot to put up the disclaimer. Actually, that song belongs to AC/DC for the most part. I did change some of the words to make it fit better. I cannot write lyrics to songs no matter how hard I try…

And, on another note, yes you can break someone's nose that way. My mom did it to her brother when she was 12 or something near that.

Review Replies!

Thanks you oh so very much to: mystic-miko, unknown, animedemon21, animepeep, Psycho-Sk8r-Girl, kate, Garentgirl, Mukyuu Tenshi, hanyou punk chick, kitaru-inu-lover, kyuuka-kitsune, sakura19892, Gittelbug, gothic inuyasha, mental-out-patient, B. rouge, crimson dragon6, Bana, kool11c, ViKiLei, Pogo, and aska19

Jonathold: I hate it when that happens. My retarded computer does that all the time. Yup! They really said that. You'd probably like their music, I think. I recommend their cd Take off your Pants and Jacket. More ending thingees…lemme think about it. I'll come up with something that's hippie bashing.

Shriylon: Oh, you see plot? I'm excited! You'll definitely see it in the next chapter. I love AC/DC too, but lotsa people thought I wrote that song…scary, isn't it? I have another song that I find very InuYasha that will pop up in the sequel…except it's from Puddle of Mudd. Betcha can't guess which of their songs it is!

Inuyasha-my-lover- wait, do I have Miroku telling Sango he loves her…damn! Thank you for bringing that to my attention! I knew I forget something…

Inuyashalovesme: How do I do it? I ask myself that every day and can't seem to figure it out…I really don't think I can write that well, personally…

TenshiNoHakai: No I didn't…see belated disclaimer. Wish I did! I'm one of the best?! blush

Cannonballboy: You were close on the reaction thing. The happy dance is great!

Cutie-kitsune: lol. I write on people while they sleep, not put make up on them.

Tainted-miko: I envy your luckiness. Definitely do the sango/Miroku thing…once I write chapter 8…I never said that! Eight is going great…heheh…I'm gonne go write it now! (damn, guess I am your bitch…jk)

Bloodbunny: If they were real I think every girl would jump them…make up or not. Jam has returned!

Silentslayer: geez, I feel predictable. You can always tell what comes next…you might not be able to guess what happens in the next chapter tho!

Chaoticsoranma: Yep. If a 12 year old can do it, Kagome can. Update my profile? I try to change it, but sometimes I'm a day late. I do a lot of things normal people do, even thought I'm not a normal person. My eyes I can't help, like InuYasha can't help having white hair. We're just born that way. And I love Tamora Pierce cause I love knights and stuff. I'm a renaissance festival freak too.

Kitaru-inu-lova- You're still in school? It's almost July. Unless your school is year-round. I am no pro, just a very bored girl with a computer.

DraGonMistress704: No, no, no! See disclaimer! I'm glad you feel special; you should!

BlackCat92: I've seen that episode; I've got them all on tape. That one made me mad too! She's coming in the next chapter I think…

crazy-kitsune- You are evilly evil! You love beating on Kikyo, don't ya? (hands you fresh, unpounded clone) have fun!

Beth: I meant to email you! I play a little guitar, not much. Bass and drums? Wow, you're accomplished! You say I'm gifted? blush I feel special now!

Kagome MK: Nah, I'm a weirdo. You sound perfectly normal to me!

Foxshadow: You're welcome! I have more if you want me to send you a couple. I made Kagome hurt poor InuYasha…oh well. He loves her! And it was kinda funny. People write on me while I sleep too! It's awful. I can totally relate. There's more cliffies to come….

Quote of the day!

"Money is short and times are hard, so here's your fucking father's day card." –My gran

ps- whoever can tell me what songs and artists those quotes came from gets pocky!


	14. Night Before and Morning After

If you want to know when I'll be posting the next chapter, check my profile; I try to update it regularly and put raindates out. It also gives info on my other fics.

There's something I'm supposed to say isn't there…oh yes! (in monotone voice since I know no one pays attention to this anyways) Warning, there is citrusy content in the first section of this chapter. If you are squeamish about said content or are underage, please do not read. Thank you and have a lovely day.

Anyways, I give a huge thank you t tainted-miko, my beloved beta. She helped with a _lot _of this first part. We even had her boyfriend helping! This was actually kind of a three person collaboration. It prolly isn't that great, but….

On with the show!

……………………………………..

InuYasha captured Kagome's lips in a fiery kiss as he leaned her back onto the pillows. He began to trail small open mouthed kisses down her throat until he reached the top of her shirt. InuYasha slowly undid each button one by one, his lips continuing to make their way down Kagome's torso until he'd freed the last button. She allowed him to slip off the garment and toss it threw the curtains and onto the floor.  
  
His hands roamed over the newly exposed skin, causing shivers to run down Kagome's spine.   
  
InuYasha captured Kagome's lips in a fiery kiss as he leaned her back onto the pillows. He began to trail small open mouthed kisses down her throat until he reached the top of her shirt. InuYasha slowly undid each button one by one, his lips continuing to make their way down Kagome's torso until he'd freed the last button. She allowed him to slip off the garment and toss it threw the curtains and onto the floor.  
  
His hands roamed over the newly exposed skin, causing shivers to run down Kagome's spine. InuYasha moved up to lightly nip at the base of Kagome's neck. The nervous anticipation she'd been feeling switched over to a case of just nerves. The hanyou felt her tense beneath him and he lifted his head to whisper in her ear. "Relax. I'll stop whenever you tell me to, okay?"  
  
After hearing the concern in his husky voice Kagome smiled up at him. "I'm fine." She replied. InuYasha's hands returned to carressing her back until he found the clasp on her bra. He fiddled with it for a while, having a hard time due to his claws. He finally gave in and sliced through the fabric with one claw.  
  
"InuYasha, you ruined my favorite..." Kagome's protests turned into a low moan as InuYasha began to seductively suck on her breast, teasing the other with his hand. He smirked at the sound of at the sound of her moan, he smirked, knowing it was him who caused it and not someone else, she was his and only his now and forever. Kagome twined her fingers in his hair as he continued to worship her breasts. Suddenly Kagome pushed InuYasha off of her and made him lie down so she was above him.  
  
"You're not getting away with doing all the work tonight." She murmered with a wink. Kagome licked her lips slowly before bringing them crashing down onto his. She opened her mouth just enough to nibble on his lower lip. She broke off the passionate embrace to place butterfly kisses down his well toned chest. Kagome made her way down to the waist of his boxers. She glanced up at InuYasha before reaching between his legs...

…………………………………….  


  
Kagome yawned as she woek up. InuYasha still had his arms wrapped tightly around her. She began to idly brush his bangs away from his face. She loved to watch him sleep; a side of him no one but her knew showed on his face.  
  
'He has such long eyelashes for a guy...if they were on anyone but him they'd look feminene...' Kagome thought and giggled. 'Wait, someone else does have them and looks feminene. Sesshomaru!'  
  
InuYasha's breathing was deep and even as he continued to sleep, despite the fact that Kagome had began to run her fingers thorugh his hair. A thin band of freckles ran across the bridge of his nose, making him look as boyish as he acted half the time. His lips were parted and the corers of his mouth turned up. He made a small grunting noise.  
  
'He's probably dreaming...' Kagome thought until a golden eye slid open. InuYasha gave Kagome a lazy grin.  
  
"What time is it?" He asked as he let out a jaw cracking yawn, exposing his sharp fangs.  
  
"I don't know, probably noon. Don't we go through this every morning?" Kagome quirked an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Yes, but you're usually the one that askes." InuYasha sat up and scooped Kagome into his arms.  
  
"What are you doing?" She asked.  
  
"It's shower time!" InuYasha carried her into the bathroom, laughing as the cool air hit her, making her scream.  


……………………………………..  
  
The next week the entire group was sitting in the living room when InuYasha's dog suddenly let out a loud popping sound and in its place sat a small boy with bright orange hair and a fluffy tail.

"Wow, I've been waiting to fix that for a month! I fell much better!" The boy exclaimed as the entire band stared at him.

"What the fuck?" InuYasha gaped at what had once been his dog. Sango quickly covered for him.

"He means to ask who you are."

"I'm Shippo! I'm a kitsune and can change into different things. Nice to finally introduce myself." He said brightly, as if this sort of thing happened every day.

"How...what...huh?" Miroku stuttered. Shippo sighed and shook his head.

"About a month ago I was practicing turning into a dog when I figured out I couldn't change back. This dog catcher guy picked me up and took me to the pet store and left me there. Then Kagome came and picked me out to give to him," he pointed to InuYasha "and I've just changed back to normal. I'm about eight and an orphan, if you care to know. Now that I don't have a bed, can I sleep with you, Kagome?"

"No one sleeps with Kagome but me!" InuYasha roared.

"True that." Sango said and Kagome nodded. Miroku looked bewildered.

"Did I miss something here?" He asked.

"InuYasha and Kagome have been sharing a bed for a long time now. I've known pretty much all along. Didn't he tell you?" Sango stated as Miroku sputtered.

"You knew and no one told me?" He yelled, unhappy that he hadn't been let in on the news. "I thought we were like brothers, InuYasha!"

"Sorry, it slipped my mind! I didn't think it was that big anyways. Don't freak out! Kagome stays with me, not you brat." InuYasha folded his arms over his chest. Miroku chose to accept facts and calmed down.

"Ugh, I don't see how you can stand staying with him Kagome! I saw him get out of the shower once and he was scary looking! I strongly advise that you share a bed with someone else." Shippo retorted. InuYasha burned a bright red; part in embarrassment, part in anger.

"Hey! How can you judge like that! I think Kagome should decide for herself." He scowled furiously. Kagome sputtered a bit and began to speak, but right at that moment Sesshomaru barged through the door, Rin at his heels. He threw a paper down on the coffee table and pointed at it. It was a trashy tabloid and had a large picture of Kagome lying in InuYasha's arms on the cover. It looked as if neither of them were dressed.

"Please tell me they airbrushed Kagome's shirt off. Please tell me that." Sesshomaru was halfway shaking with something close to rage. "I will sue their tabloid printing, gossip spreading, lie telling asses all the way from here to the U.S.! They will quiver before our lawyers!" Kagome and InuYasha looked at one another, not knowing what to do. Miroku peered over for a better look at the photo.

"Whoa! It looks like you've been doing waaay more than just sleeping." He looked over at InuYasha, clearly impressed. Sesshomaru took their silence as a response and his eyes widened.

"Kagome. Next room. Now." He picked up the paper and set off. "You too, brother." They trooped into the breakfast nook and slammed the door. Sesshomaru placed the paper on a table and leaned over, his hands planted firmly on the wood. "Did they airbrush it out? Tell me now."

"No." Kagome spoke up and looked at the tabloid. "Romance in the Tamas? More steamy photos inside." She read and flipped through the pages. "What could they have taken pictures of? I closed the curtains, didn't I?" she found the page and looked at it.

"Oh my god!" InuYasha yelled as he looked at the spread. "We're fully clothed and kissing on the bed! That could scar small children!" Kagome laughed out loud.

"Yes, and there's one of our clothes on the floor! That one picture of dirty laundry has just marred my brain!"

"And look! You're in my shirt and getting out the bed while I'm sleeping, shirtless. What could that imply? I don't wear a top to bed? Awful! I'd never let a kid see that! Too steamy for me!"

"I have to agree there. And don't forget the one of the bed with the curtains closed."

"How could I?"

"It's not funny!" Sesshomaru interrupted. "This isn't the best publicity, and besides that I'm sure Kagome was never told the effects of this...this...well, this!" He finished lamely.

"What effects? I've already had that talk, thank you." Kagome said indignantly. Sesshomaru sighed in relief. "How old do you think I am? Three?"

"NO! Not that talk!" Sesshomaru sputtered and pointed at the tiny mark on Kagome's neck where InuYasha had pinch bit her on accident. "Did that insolent whelp do that to you?"

"Yeah. It was an accident though." Kagome shrugged.

"He…it…that…accident!" Sesshomaru spat. He glared at his younger brother. InuYasha gulped. He was sure that Sesshomaru was going to try to give him the 'youkai pick mates, not fuck buddies' talk again. The demon continued to sputter.

'One day that man is going to have a conniption fit over nothing and die.' InuYasha thought with a roll of his eyes.

Now all I have to do is recover some of the band's lost image." Sesshomaru got up to leave when Kagome stopped him.

"How come you couldn't smell it? You're youkai, right?" She blurted out. Sesshomaru turned and grinned.

"I trained myself not to since I'd probably end up sick every time I went in public otherwise. Some people just don't know that showers are your friend." He swept off, leaving a stunned Kagome and a nonplussed InuYasha in his wake.

"Shall we go and fill in the group then?" InuYasha asked. Kagome nodded and they took off for the living room. The four in the living room were chatting excitedly while Miroku held his hands over Shippo's ears. He had deemed the conversation inappropriate for kids while Shippo squirmed in his grasp, saying he knew a lot more than any kid.

"Get off me Miroku! I practically saw them together the other night and had to leave the room before my eyes got burned out!" Shippo exclaimed. InuYasha walked over and hit the kid on the head in anger. "What was that for?"

"For watching, you sick kid!"

"I didn't watch! I left when Kagome closed the curtains!"

"Too much information!" Sesshomaru said. "I do not want to know about my brother's love life. When I found out he was sharing a bed with his new girlfriend I was shocked enough. I don't need any details on anything else."

"I was the only one who didn't know?" Miroku's hands dropped from Shippo's ears. The boy jumped off his lap and raced across the room, not wanting to be caught again.

"Sorry?" Kagome suggested feebly. Miroku sighed and dropped back into the couch.

"I give up. Now on I want to be told this stuff though! Ooh, steamy pictures?" He picked up the tabloid and flipped through. "Damn. I've seen better stuff on tv." Sango shoot him a piercing gaze, making him stutter. "I-I mean t-that these are really tame pictures and cartoons are probably dirtier. Oh, see for yourself!" He passed her the paper and she looked through.

"Hmm...Kagome, I'd invite you to have a late night movie showing, but it seems you'll probably be busy tonight." She said slyly.

"I don't know that for sure!" Kagome began. InuYasha gave a "yeah, right." from beside her and she jabbed him in the side. "You shut up!"

"Come on, you-"

"Details not needed!" Sesshomaru yelled again. InuYasha shut his mouth tightly.

"Okay! Let's calm down! This isn't that big!" Rin stood up and attempted to get the group under some control. "And Kagome, I think we need a girl's night in tonight, okay?"

"InuYasha, I think we need to talk also." Miroku interjected.

"I agree with Rin, Kagome. Say how about we get down to business right now. My room good?" Sango nodded fervently. Sesshomaru stood up and walked over to the door.

"You are all lecherous minded perverts. I'm leaving before I end up scarred for life." He stalked down the hall and they heard the sound of the door slamming.

"Oh well, I can get a cab. To Sango's room!" Rin called and bounded off for the stairs. The girls followed, leaving the males alone.

"Shippo, I fear you must leave." Miroku shooed the boy away, ignoring InuYasha's cries of "I'm not telling you anything!"

"I was going to anyway. I already know what happened and don't care to hear any details. I'm off to play the play station."

……………………………………..

A dark haired woman walked down the sidewalk, high heels clicking on the concrete. She was dressed as if she were going out clubbing, not just heading out for a coffee and to grab a magazine. She stopped at her usual magazine rack and began to select a magazine when something caught her eye. She picked up the tabloid and looked at the cover. Her eyes blazed with anger as she surveyed the photograph.

"Romance in the Tamas? Steamy photos inside." She read, her knuckles white with how hard she was gripping the tabloid. "That. Bitch." She seethed as she began to read the column. "I will get her if it's the last thing I do. InuYasha will be mine and no one else's." She threw the tabloid back into the rack and stomped off, the gears in her mind turning.

……………………………………..

A young woman stood in the office at the mansion. Her name was Yura and she was applying to be a maid in the household. The head housekeeper looked up from the girl's resume and nodded.

"Well, you have a good resume. When can you start?" She asked.

"Today, if you like." Yura replied cheerfully. The housekeeper smiled and welcomed her to the team.

Later that evening Yura was cleaning Kagome's room when her cell phone rang. She picked it up and answered it.

"Yes boss?" She asked.

"Have you found anything?" Kikyo replied coolly.

"Hmm...one second." Yura began to sift through Kagome's possessions and stopped when a concert ticket fell out onto the floor. "I think I have..."

……………………………………..

"Shit!" InuYasha cursed loudly as Shippo beat him at another video game. "Okay, best out of five!" He announced and picked up his controller again. They were playing furiously when Kagome trotted down the steps. She was dressed to go out and it seemed she heading that way. "Where you goin'?"

"To a concert. The band is only here tonight and I've wanted to see them for a long time. I'll be home by at least eleven and I have my cell phone if something happens." Kagome explained, kissed InuYasha between his ears, and walked out the door.

"BE CAREFUL!" He called after her retreating form.

"Don't worry, I will. Love ya!" She yelled back and jumped into the waiting limo. She arrived at the building just as people were beginning to file in. Kagome handed her ticket to the man at the door and started the hunt for a good spot to stand. It was general admission and there weren't any seats. She finally pushed her way through until she was near the front.

Meanwhile, Kikyo stood outside the building, surrounded by four large men. They were dressed as regular concert goers, but their thick muscle showed through their clothing.

"Okay. You all know what the girl looks like. I want you four to go in and mosh her until she's smashed. I don't care how injured she ends up, just get her good. It might even be better if you eliminated her all the way. Now get your asses in there and do what I'm paying you to do." She pointed toward the door and watched the men lumber in. "Thank kami for Yura's spy job." She muttered and jumped back into a small black sports car.

The band had begun to play and people had begun to mosh. Kagome mixed in with the crowd, enjoying the show. Suddenly she was pushed from behind and forced through the crowd.

"What the hell? Back off!" She yelled at the four men who were forcing her closer and closer to the fence that separated the crowd from the stage. Several people bumped into her, jabbing her with their elbows. The men pressed on despite Kagome's yells. She was finally up against the rail and they continued to push forward, half moshing, half trying to crush her. Her ribs were pressed against the rail and she was losing her breath quickly. It felt as if her body was going to break in two any second now.

"You need out?" One of the security guards yelled. Kagome nodded fervently as he placed his hands beneath her arms and lifted her out in one smooth motion. She leaned against his shoulder and panted. She was on the other side of the rail and in an open area, but her ribs still ached. The man who had rescued her had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. "Well now aren't you a cutie, here all alone. How about being my woman?" He asked suavely.

"You-!" Kagome raised an arm to smack him across the face when he caught her wrist.

"Now what's all the fuss about? My name's Koga and-" He was cut off as Kagome's hand shot out to grab his nose. She twisted as hard as she could, breaking it just as she had InuYasha's. He let go of her hand and grabbed his face. "Holy shit!"

Kagome took off running as fast as she could before he could catch up to her. She raced out of the building and back into the limo. Her sides hurt, but she was okay otherwise. She lay down across the seat and tried to figure out what had happened. Why were those guys trying to smash her? The car pulled up to the door and she hobbled out slowly, still thinking. It was still early and the whole house was still awake. InuYasha was walking to the kitchen when he noticed Kagome come through the door. He rushed up to her and she collapsed in his arms.

"Kagome, what happened?" He asked as she clung to him with all her might.

"I will never, ever, EVER go to a concert alone again! These four guys tried to mosh me to death and my ribs hurt and then this guard pulled me out of the crowd and started to hit on me and I broke his nose and ran and I'm so freaked out!" Kagome said in a rush. InuYasha stroked her back, trying to calm her down. He picked her up bridal style and carried her up to the bedroom, then deposited her gently on the mattress. He changed into his pajamas and climbed under the blankets. It was still fairly early, but they'd end up watching tv until they fell asleep.

……………………………………..

Kikyo sat in her bedroom, waiting for Yura to report back. Her phone rang and she rushed to answer it. "Kikyo!" Came the voice on the other end.

"What, Yura? Did it come home yet?"

"Yes...she came back fine. Obviously your plan didn't work. What now? I could strangle her, but it'd be noticeable."

"That's okay. I have a better plan." Kikyo hung up the phone and dialed a different number. "Hello?"

"Yes, Kikyo?" A smooth male voice answered.

"Naraku, do you remember that favor you owe me? Well, it's time for you to do a little job for me..."

……………………………………..

Sorry, short chapter, but the next one is very important. You'll see why. (Yeah, I'm evil…)

Thanks to: Kat-woman-585, kaira, InuJinx, Blackiecat, Angel81, Garnetgirl, Ulairi, Maggie, Inuyasha-my-lover, crazyinuchick, sekia, Sesshomarugrl, bittanybook, Gittlebug, Kagome MK, The Fire Goddess, crazy-kitsune, foxshadow, Chaoticsoranama, shymiko, KenshinGal128, masiel1, InuJinx, Panda, yasha21, SftbalLazerGurl,

Here's who gets pocky for the quote things: Kyuuka-kitsune! Animepeep, Jade Anonymous, Shrilyon

Wolf-Dog-Demoness: I'm not the only one with a granny like that! (does happy dance) Lemon? Mebbe…

Aoshi Mimiru Pyro: Does that answer your questions?

Inuyashas-freak15: Yesh, I am veeeery evil….

InuYashaspunkchick: Oh yum! You guys are gonna make me get fat!

SesshysKitty: You were in Japan? JAPAN? (has a conniption) Where in Japan? Tokyo? Did you have fun? I'm thinking about going to Japan, so you must tell me about it! Do you speak any Japanese? I'm trying to teach myself and am dying to try my (small amount of) skills on someone. I envy you, girl!

Sedataro: Gothic poetry? Cool! Put some in your next review; I wanna read! Tips…gosh, you're the second person that's asked! I didn't know you guys thought I was good enough to give tips! Okay, I'll give you a few tips: Don't quit writing if you don't get a lot of reviews. This is the first story I've done that's gone over so well! Get a beta if you can. My beta is my new best friend plus she helps with my writing. hi, miko! Hm…oh! Don't be afraid to draw off of things that have really happened to you. I do that all the time; you have no idea how much of this stuff is from my life…

Ryngrl5: I love Pierce, but I didn't like Trickster's choice nearly as much as I like her other series. Maybe it's because it isn't set in Tortall, but I thought the whole book was kinda boring. I like the Alanna series the best of them all, but POTS is good too. Could you believe that Kel fell for Cleon of all men? I can't wait to see who she ends up with afterall.

Jonathold: I'm waiting tons of stories. When they finally update you have to reread the entire thing cause you've forgotten what it was a bout to begin with! My computer hates AIM, sadly enough. Those quotes are great; I love reading about WWII. I think I like Patton's one about making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country the best. And I didn't include that conversation because it would have bored you out of your skull and was basically something that could be passed up.

Kyuuka-kitsune: Who do you like better, Mark or Tom? If you tell me I'll send you a special gift since you like blink so much!

Obsessed14: No way! Awesomeness! Happy early birthday!

B.rouge: Well, I know lots of people pick those kind of dogs for InuYasha to have as a puppy and I just can't help but love that breed of dog. Plus, brown=Shippo. A little resemblance there. Thanks, I love spell check! I can't spell for crackers when I get to typing and you'd hate to see the chapters pre-check.

Blackcat92- I think Kikyo does end up going to hell sometime in the series. It just hasn't been dubbed yet. That episode made me mad too! So did last Saturday's where Kikyo told Tsubaki to have her way with killing Kagome! Die dead bitch!

Silentslayer: nope! No interruptions! Wonder if you can guess what happens in the next chapter…

Inu's Girl: The end laughs hysterically For notice about R rated action, see above!

Tainted-miko: ohh yeah, 8 is great. Have fun at mickey d's, we all know you love it there! Don't spit in any burgers without telling me about it!

Goth Musician: You asked me a question? Damn, I must be slipping. I dunno how many chapters, it depends on how I chop it up. I always thank my reviewers cause if it weren't for you, I'd be a very bored person.

VikiLei: I think about ten or so people beat you to it…;

DragonMistress704: I have three dogs! Mine are big dogs too. Paper trains? Shippo will be using the toilet, thank you very much (lol).

Mental-out-patient: I couldn't either! It's from Come Clean…can you guess now?

Sunrider22: Keep things happy? I couldn't; There'd be no plot! But you know everything turns out fine in the end since there's gonna be a sequel.

Shrilyon: Pocky is these little biscuit (more like cookie, actually) sticks covered in icing. Since you don't know what they are (they're great; krogers sells them) then you get an inu plushie instead! Actually, I have thought of writing an original story and getting it published, I dunno though. What's wrong with hippies? Long story…AC/DC is awesome! If they come within 300 miles of my house I'm gonna go see 'em!

Beth: No way! It stayed on for days? I bet that's hilarious!

Quote of the Day!

"Some fucking fag went and put yaoi on my damn car!" My best friend tainted-miko's boyfriend (aiee! So cuuuute!) after we played a little joke on him…


	15. Changes

I'm so so sorry for not posting lately! It's been a long week. First I found out that I have kidney stones so I'm feeling pretty down and ill. I also had an anime convention I went to this past weekend. I spent a bunch of time redoing the top for my Gun Mage Paine outfit too. (Now if you are very smart you can figure out what con I was at. It was not Gen Con either. And if you happened to be there too, say something!) I also found some new animes and mangas that I love. (Chobits, Rurouni Kenshin, and Gravitation. I have to say Gravitation is my guilty pleasure. The plot is just so good!) I'm only going to do IY fanfics since doing a bunch of different series would fry my brain.

This is the last chapter of Girl and the Rock Show. I'm so sad that it's over and have had such a good time with you all. Expect the sequel and a whole new non AU fic to be out soon!

……………………………………..

"Kagura. I have a mission for you." Naraku said. A woman emerged from the dark entry to the office. Naraku sat in a large office chair behind a heavy wooden desk.

"Yes?" Kagura asked.

"Today I have received a notice that Kagome Higurashi and InuYasha will be walking to a coffee shop on Kenshi street. I want you waiting at the intersection in a car."

"The usual elimination?"

"Yes. They'll be there very soon. Hurry and get the job done. My reward will be handsome." Naraku said with an evil laugh. Kagura left the room and headed down to the car she would be using.

'His reward. What about mine? I do all the dirty work and he gets the pay off. All I get is a room and terrible food to boot.' She thought as she started the car. Naraku had several 'employees' that worked under him. He held them under dangerous contracts to do as he said or else they would be punished severely. Kagura hated the job, but feared his wrath. She was dying to rebel and be free, but couldn't figure out how to do so. She sped down the street until she arrived at the intersection. A white haired boy and a dark haired girl were walking down the street happily. She watched as they stopped at the crosswalk and waited for the light to change. They looked so happy, so carefree. Kagura never saw her victims living their lives, being themselves. It made something in her heart ache as the light changed. Kagome bounded on ahead. This was her chance.

'Go!' Part of her screamed, but the other part told her not to do it. Kagura sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes and slammed on the gas pedal. 'What am I doing?' She thought. Her eyes snapped open and she stomped on the brake, but not early enough. She hit Kagome, but didn't fully run her down. Kagura sped away in the opposite direction of the intersection and Naraku's office. She needed to get away and fast. She'd finally rebelled, but not in the way she had hoped. She might have accidentally completed the job, but she didn't stick around to find out.

……………………………………..

InuYasha watched in horror as the car pulled into the street and hit Kagome. The car turned and sped away, leaving her to lay in the street.

"Kagome!" He screamed and raced over to her limp body. She was still breathing, but she was hurt badly. "Call an ambulance! Somebody, call an ambulance!" He yelled to the people around him. Someone finally whipped out a cell phone and dialed 911. "Kagome, hold on. You have to hold on." He whispered as he held her. She was unconscious in his arms.

The ambulance arrived and everything form there was a blur. They arrived at the hospital quickly and Kagome was rushed off to a room. InuYasha sat silently in the waiting room, not knowing what to do. He ended up using a pay phone to call the group, Kagome's family and his brother. They arrived in minutes and the waiting room was packed. InuYasha sat down on the floor in a corner, nearly shaking with worry. The doctors hadn't come out yet and no one knew how she was. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into the face of Miroku.

"Let's go sit down." He said simply and led InuYasha to a chair. A white coated doctor come out and asked for Kagome's mother to speak with him. After a moment, Mrs. Higurashi returned with the news.

"She's in a coma and hurt pretty badly. Two people can go in and see her right now." She told the crowd that had gathered. Most of the workers from the mansion had arrived; everyone loved Kagome. It was finally decided that InuYasha and Mrs. Higurashi should go in.

Kagome lay on the bed in a hospital gown. She was hooked up to a number of beeping, whirring machines. A doctor was waiting for them next to he bed. He shook their hands and told them the details of Kagome's condition.

"The chances of her coming out of the coma are fairly slim. You may stay in the room as long as you like." He left the two in the room and went back to his duties. Kagome looked awful; worse than InuYasha did after his fall. InuYasha collapsed in one of the chairs and put his face in his hands. He felt awful and he was worried to the point of illness. Mrs. Higurashi rubbed his shoulder consolingly as he sighed deeply.

InuYasha had been staying in Kagome's room day and night, after a large donation to the hospital had swayed the doctor's opinion. Mrs. Higurashi stayed in the room most of the time, but others came in and out most of the day. He used Kagome's bathroom to shower in and someone had brought his clothes and some hygiene items. His eyes were sunken into his head form lack of sleep and dark circles ringed his amber orbs. He hadn't eaten or slept in the week since the accident, instead he'd watched Kagome every second.

"InuYasha? I brought you some ramen and a soda from Sango. They really wish you'd eat." Mrs. Higurashi sat down the food in front of him on the end table. He stared listlessly at the meal. It was there, but so what? Kagome might die, so what did food matter? "InuYasha, please eat something. I'm worried about you! You're like my son almost. You need to relax some and think about the happy times. I could teach you how to cross stitch if it'd help. It's something to do besides stare into space." Mrs. Higurashi has been crafting diligently the whole time she sat in the room. InuYasha looked up and sighed.

"Sure...I guess..." He said. Mrs. Higurashi handed him a half finished hoop and sat down. He caught onto how to make the x-shaped stitches quickly and was working fast.

"You know, my husband died a while back in a work accident. I grieved for so long and was much like you, but I learned that I needed to laugh and be happy."

"I guess so...I'm just so worried."

"I understand. There's something I need to ask you about though. I suppose this isn't the best time, but I've been wondering about it."

InuYasha looked up at Mrs. Higurashi.

"I saw that tabloid. Is what is said true? Don't worry, I'm not angry, just curious."

InuYasha gulped and put down the embroidery hoop. "Y-yes." He whispered. He didn't know how to explain anything more than that.

"I trust you with Kagome; that you'll protect her and love her. You have my approval, okay?" Mrs. Higurashi smiled warmly, taking a huge weight off his chest.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I love her more than life itself and I'll protect her to the best of my ability, not that she needs it most of the time. She could kick any guy's as-sorry, ma' am, his butt-" InuYasha tried to stop himself from cursing.

"Don't worry about your language. Kagome says that you curse like a sailor, but it fits in a way. I've heard every word in the book and nothing shocks me. And don't call me ma'am. Aiko will do fine. Mrs. Higurashi sounds too formal." Aiko winked at InuYasha.

"My grandfather was a sailor, so I guess it works. Kagome broke my nose once and she broke this other guy's nose when he started to hit on her and wouldn't stop." InuYasha began to tell Aiko about how he got his nose rebroken, making her laugh.

"That's exactly what she did to Souta! He was in her room and wouldn't leave, so she twisted his nose. Souta will be so happy that you two are together now. He's always admired you so much."

"He gave me advice on how to get Kagome to kiss me and it worked really good. He's a smart kid. Maybe one day I'll end up being his brother in law if I can get up the courage to ask Kagome to marry me. We're still fairly young, so I'd wait about a year at least, if that's okay."

"That's fine. As long as you two are happy. Now what's the story with the groper and Sango? How are they getting on?"

"Those two." InuYasha snorted. "They haven't gotten as far as Kagome and me, but it's inevitable that it'll be soon. Where's that ramen?" He picked up the instant noodles and devoured them swiftly, barely coming up for breath.

"Kagome told me about your jam and your spoon too, Sir Eats a Lot. I believe Sango will be bringing some jam up here today."

"'Ounds 'ood." InuYasha said, his mouth full. Aiko laughed and began to work on her stitching again.

……………………………………..

InuYasha walked down the hospital halls, his bare feet treading softly against the cool floor. He only wore shoes when it was necessary, otherwise he went barefoot. No one in the hospital complained and he was feeling fairly content. His jeans hung limply on his waist since not eating and sleeping for two straight weeks had taken a small toll on him physically, but he was recovering. He'd decided that he may as well be entertained while he waited for Kagome to get better. Now he was eating well, sleeping most of the night, talking to people and helping Mrs. Higurashi craft nearly every day. He chewed on a straw while he trod down the stairs to the hospital cafeteria. People waved and greeted him as he went by. It was as if he was a part of the staff, not a teen rock star waiting for his girlfriend to come out of a coma. He rounded a corner when he saw her.

"InuYasha, here with waiting for your little whore to come of her coma, hmm?" Kikyo smirked as InuYasha growled in anger.

"But Kikyo, you're fully awake." He retorted.

"Oooh, still got that nasty little temper, don't you?"

"What the fuck do you want, Kikyo? You never even spoke to Kagome before."

"Is that any way to speak to me, you filthy half breed?" Kikyo seethed. InuYasha shook with rage, clenching his teeth.

"Get out of here Kikyo unless you want me to strangle you with my bare hands." InuYasha was nearly to the breaking point. Kikyo lounged against a wall, smirking still.

"Do it, InuYasha. Murder me." She taunted. His eyes had begun to turn red and small purple stripes were showing up on his cheeks. "Your demon side coming out? Better than being a disgusting hanyou. I don't think you'd have the guts to even touch me even in your demon form." InuYasha stalked over to Kikyo, fists balled. His grabbed her by the shoulders, pinning her to the wall.

"Look Kikyo, get out of here. Get out right now before you really push me." He allowed one claw to dig into her shoulder and a small drop of blood formed where it had cut her skin. He couldn't kill her, but he could at least scare her some.

"Fine, but know this InuYasha: you're mine and no one will have you but me. Ever. That bitch will die, I'll see to that." Kikyo wrenched herself out of his grasp and stalked out of the hospital. Little did they know, a pair of eyes watched from around the corner. The observer gave small laugh and snuck off. InuYasha returned to his normal self and headed off to the cafeteria once more. He grabbed a soda and a slice of cake then left for the room again.

Mrs. Higurashi was in the room, working on her cross stitching. InuYasha flopped down in a chair and began to eat. The woman looked up and noticed that he looked flushed to say the least.

"What's wrong dear?"

"Kikyo showed up and called me and Kagome some names, I told her off and she left. She pisses me off so bad sometimes. If there's anyone who could drive me to murder, it's her. I have no clue as to how I put up with her for so long." InuYasha began to scarf down his cake, finishing in record time. He picked up his soda and drained it before returning to his vigil.

……………………………………..

InuYasha looked over at the clock on the wall. It was nearly ten and Mrs. Higurashi had left him to have some time alone with Kagome. "Two weeks and three days since the accident, too many to go." He sighed and opened the tiny fridge that Miroku had brought to put in the room. He pulled out a carton of vanilla fudge ice cream, whipped out his spoon and dug in.

He concentrated so fully on his food that he didn't notice a stir of movement from the bed. Kagome's eyes cracked open and she surveyed the room. It felt as if she'd been hit by a train, not a car. She didn't have a clue as to how long it'd been since the accident and didn't really care to know. InuYasha looked pale and gaunt for some reason and he was eating from the box again. She sighed, knowing she'd never break him from the habit.

"What did I say about eating from the carton? Other people don't want you spit in their mouths. I'm a minority." She croaked at him.

"Guess you are. I like the carton, it offers more to eat than a damn bowl and-" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and looked up. Kagome was awake? He threw the spoon and ice cream down and jumped over to Kagome's bed. He flung himself next to her. "You! You're awake and just as bitchy as always! I've missed you so much!" InuYasha wrapped his arms around her in a fierce hug while a tear ran down his face.

"What? I haven't been asleep that long...have I?" She asked and returned the hug.

"Two weeks and three days of pure hell. I didn't start eating or sleeping until three days ago and I've been talking to your mom a lot. She doesn't care that we're together and she taught me how to cross stitch." He said into the crook of her neck. The door cracked open and Miroku poked his head in.

"InuYasha, I think Sango brought some jam and- KAGOME! She's awake!" Miroku yelled into the hall. People poured into the tiny room, cramming into every available square inch. InuYasha and Kagome were still hugging each other tightly.

"How long have you guys been here?" Kagome asked.

"The whole time. We've been camped out in the waiting room. It's so good to see you back." Sango said from somewhere in the mass.

"Kagome!" Shippo bounded up into Kagome's lap, making the whole room laugh. She hugged him happily. "I've missed you so much! The doctor said you might never wake up! Show's him what he knows! InuYasha said you were tough and if you could kick Kouga's ass, you could wake up from some stupid coma."

"Shippo! Watch your mouth! I bet InuYasha said it exactly like that huh?"

"Not exactly. He called Kouga 'that fu-'" Shippo was cut off as InuYasha's hand clamped down over his mouth.

"Shippo my boy, no need for language there." InuYasha stuttered.

"You talk like that in front of the kid?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, he's been really bad lately. He says all kinds of stuff and in different languages too! I'm not a kid either; I'm all of eight." Shippo folded his arms over his chest. Kagome ruffled his hair and leaned back into her pillows.

"Thanks for tattling." InuYasha huffed.

……………………………………..

It was a week later and InuYasha and Kagome sat happily on the couch, watching tv, when Sesshomaru walked in. He sat down in the chair across from them and leaned over to rest his elbows on his knees.

"Okay. Here's the deal. Unless we know who the attacker was and who hired them, we can't take the case to court. From your description, the police have identified the driver of the car as a woman named Kagura. She's one of Naraku's henchmen, or should I say hit men. The police can't find her or the car anywhere, so unless she confesses to the police or they find her, we have no case." Sesshomaru said in a rush. The couple heaved a sigh.

"Feh. There's a better chance of having angels fly out of your ass." InuYasha muttered.

……………………………………..

Kagura sat in the car outside the police station in Kyoto. This was it, her one way of truly defying Naraku and getting out his clutches safely. Her hands shook as she turned the car off, stepped out, and walked into the station. She stalked over to the desk and braced herself.

"I'm Kagura and I have a confession to make..."

……………………………………..

"So Sesshomaru, how do you know all this legal stuff?" Kagome asked. The white haired man had been rambling on for the past five minutes about how they could press charges.

"He was studying law before he woke up and decided, 'Hey! I'll manage my little brother's garage band!' " InuYasha explained.

"I did not choose like that! You were the one who asked me!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Yes you were!"

"Was not!"

"Look, if this all you have to say, I'm going to go take a bath." Kagome began to stand and was soon joined by InuYasha.

"Wait for me!" InuYasha jumped up. Sesshomaru ahem-ed lightly. "What? You know my tub's big enough for two and we're saving water!"

"That wasn't what I was clearing my throat about, I was merely thirsty, and I still don't need details." Sesshomaru stood up to leave when his cell phone rang. He answered and a shocked look crossed his face. "I guess you'll be seeing some angels then. Kagura confessed."

"What!?" InuYasha and Kagome yelled in unison.

"She told them everything. It turns out that Naraku has some kind of method of torturing his employees when they disobey. Kagura decided not to complete her job and confess so she'd have ultimately defied him and gotten away safely. She told the location of his head quarters and everything. We still don't know who hired her to kill Kagome though." Sesshomaru flopped down into the chair. "So close! We just need one piece! One!"

"I know who hired her." Shippo said as he bounded into the room.

"What?" Sesshomaru asked, exasperated. He wasn't in the mood for childish games.

"Well, you see, I was bored and Sango gave me her spare cell phone to play with and it has one of those voice recorders on it. I was following InuYasha to sneak a picture of him but ended up hearing his conversation with Kikyo and I recorded it. I still have the phone; Sango said to keep it since I think it's really cool." Shippo held out the phone.

"Let me see that." Sesshomaru took the phone and accessed the recorded conversation. Kikyo's voice blared in the room.

"Fine, but know this InuYasha: you're mine and no one will have you but me. Ever. That bitch will die, I'll see to that."

"Kami...we could use that to convict her in court. Naraku probably won't tell who hired him and Kagura doesn't know who asked Naraku to do the deed. Shippo, do you mind if I borrow this phone?" Sesshomaru was looking the phone like it had dropped straight from heaven.

"If it puts Kikyo in jail for hurting Kagome, you can keep it forever for all I care!" Shippo said cheerfully before bounding off, probably going to play some more video games.

……………………………………..

Kagome rolled over in bed and sighed. It was the day of the court date and she was fairly nervous. InuYasha was already awake and rooting through his closet.

"Oi! Kagome! Where's my red Foo Fighters shirt?" He yelled as he searched through his many racks of clothes.

"I dunno...we're going to court, not the store. I though you'd dress...well, nice." Kagome moaned.

"I'm a rock star; no one cares what I wear. Hell, I could go in my pajamas and it wouldn't be like anyone would scold me. They might take pictures since I sleep in my boxers, but that's about it. Where's the shirt?"

"Have you tried looking on the floor since that's where you keep most of your stuff."

InuYasha came into the bedroom and began to look in one of the piles of clothing on the floor. Kagome began to crawl out of the bed when she noticed she was wearing said shirt. InuYasha turned to go back in the closet when he looked at Kagome.

"Damn. Gimme!" He waited expectantly for her to hand over the top.

"What?! You're going to go in dirty clothes? Why don't you wear a different shirt?" Kagome refused to take off the tee.

"Aww, come on! It's not like seeing you take it off will be embarrassing." Kagome still refused to let him go to court in worn clothes and he huffed off. "Fine. I'll just wear this instead." He returned in the exact same shirt, only in black.

"You..." Kagome was at a loss for words. She poked him in the stomach before going into the spare closet. She'd moved her clothes into his room a while ago so that she wouldn't have to run up and down the stairs constantly. She selected a pair of black slacks and a black t-shirt.

"Funeral?" InuYasha asked, noting her all black outfit.

"If we don't get downstairs it will be. Sesshomaru hates it when we're late. Let's go, Mr. I wear dirty clothes to court." She tugged InuYasha downstairs by a forelock and into the limo where everyone was already waiting.

They arrived at the courthouse on time and the trial immediately began. The judge called Kagura to the stand for questioning first. She explained everything the same way as she had explained it when she confessed to the police.

"I am one of Naraku's hit men. I was assigned the task of killing Kagome Higurashi by running her over with the black sedan and found I couldn't do so. Naraku keeps his employees under control by torturing them if they don't complete the task or if the leave his little force. I'd always wanted out and found this would be the perfect way to leave without being in danger of his wrath, so I stomped the brake at the last second, only injuring the girl." She chose her words carefully. She wanted Naraku to be punished.

"Thank you. Next up is a Kikyo Fushito." The judge called and Kikyo was escorted into the room by several officers. She took a seat at the stand. "Please tell us, did you or did you not hire Naraku to murder Ms. Higurashi?" Kikyo sat silently for a second.

"No! Why would I do that? I never cared for InuYasha, so why would I harm his girlfriend?" She said innocently. InuYasha was fuming. How could she lie like that?

"Bring forth the evidence against Ms. Fushito." An officer took the phone up and accessed the recording.

"Fine, but know this InuYasha: you're mine and no one will have you but me. Ever. That bitch will die, I'll see to that." Kikyo's voice rung throughout the room. Kikyo began to sweat.

"What? They- They hired a voice actor! That's fake!" She screamed.

"Nu-uh! I saw it!" Shippo piped.

"Are you sure that's your story, ma'am?" The judge asked.

"Fine!" Kikyo yelled. Her face had changed from one of innocence to one of anger. "I did hire him! If I couldn't have InuYasha, no one could! I never loved him or even liked him, but he's mine! I saw the paper with the picture of him and that-that little whore and was pissed beyond belief! She's not good enough for him!"

"Kikyo, you hated me!" InuYasha stood up and gripped the edge of the table with white knuckles.

"And because I don't want to see you happy! You're a filthy half bred that doesn't deserve happiness! All you are is scum and you know it! Hanyou's are worthless!"

"Shut the fuck up! I might be a hanyou, but you're a bitch!"

"ORDER!" The judge called over the madness.

"Oh yeah? And you're an ass!"

"Slut!"

"Worthless piece of-"

"If you two don't quiet down you'll be sent from the room! Do you understand? Now that evidence has been brought forth, the jury will decide. An no more arguing and name calling! This is a courtroom, not something off of Jerry Springer!"

Everyone settled down and waited for the jury to come up with a verdict. Kikyo, Naraku, and Kagura didn't have a chance. Kagome rubbed InuYasha's back as they waited. He was angry, near the point of becoming a full demon. He breathed deeply, trying to control the rage that was building up inside of him. The jury returned shortly with the verdict.

"We find Kikyo Fushito, Naraku Harinomo, and Kagura Yoko guilty of attempted manslaughter...." They went on and on with the legal details. "...They will be sentenced to life in prison."

A cheer rose in the room as Kikyo and Kagura were lead out. Kagome hugged her friends fiercely. It was time to celebrate.

……………………………………..

The group stood on stage in front of a crowd of thousands. It was less than a year since Kikyo had been convicted and they were back to the usual life. It was in between songs, time for InuYasha to make his usual comment like always.

"Damn it's hot out here. These pants are stuck to my ass so bad I doubt Kagome will be able to pull them off tonight." He said with a saucy wink at her. She blushed heavily.

"You've been hanging around Miroku too much; you're becoming a lech!"

"Hey, you know it's true. Anyways, I have a favor to ask you."

"Hmm?" This was...unusual to say the least.

"Put down your guitar." Kagome complied and sat her instrument on the stand next to her. InuYasha placed his own guitar on a stand and walked over behind Kagome. He wrapped his arms around her and placed her chin on her shoulder. "You know what today is, ne?"

"The anniversary of our first...kiss, I think."

"Kami, you're memory is as sharp as a tack. Usually I forget all this kind of stuff and here you are struggling to figure out what today is. Very good though. Now here's the favor."

"Hai?"

"I love you more than life itself. We've been together about a year or so now and I was wondering if you would do me the honor..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold band. "Of being my wife."

Kagome trembled at the sight of the ring. It was plain gold with a pattern of sakura blossoms etched into it.

"Well?"

"Y-yes." She stuttered as he slid the ring onto her finger. The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer as Kagome turned around to kiss her fiancée passionately.

"I'm so happy." He whispered into her ear. "How about some more music then?" He said to the crowd. InuYasha returned to his microphone and picked up his guitar. "I wrote this a while back and Kagome doesn't know it, so it's just the three of us."

_"I swear that I can go on forever again__  
__Please let me know that my one bad day will end_  
_I will go down as your lover, your friend_  
_Give me your lips and with one kiss we begin _  
_Are you afraid of being alone_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
_Are you afraid of leaving tonight_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
  
_I'll leave my room open till sunrise for you_  
_I'll keep my eyes patiently focused on you_  
_Where are you now I can hear footsteps I'm dreaming_  
_And if you will, keep me from waking to believe this_  
  
_Are you afraid of being alone_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
_Are you afraid of leaving tonight_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
  
_Are you afraid of being alone_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
_Are you afraid of leaving tonight_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
_Are you afraid of being alone_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
_Are you afraid of leaving tonight_  
_Cause I am, I'm lost without you_  
  
_I'm lost without you_  
_I'm lost without you"_

……………………………………..

(sniffles) It's over! But the sequel should be done in a little while since I've got about 70% of it done. The plot is all figured out and I just have to finish typing it.

I threw that song in at the end because it's one of my favorites and had to end a band fic with a song!

I must explain about Kikyo not liking InuYasha's race before I get flamed. I got the idea to make her that way since she was always asking him to become human for her. I think if she really loved him she wouldn't have wanted him to change. Plus, it seemed like just a convient way to get rid of the jewel on the side. Couldn't InuYasha have just wished to be hanyou forever? It's just something I built off of anyways.

My last review replies for a while… (I'll miss this so much until I get my next fic done!)

Thank you so much to: inuyasha-kodocha21, Demented Dope, Inuyasha-my-lover, Usagi no Baka, kat-woman-585, Grace, kaira, Kagome loves Inuyasha, Kataro, Unknown, Kagome1987, Kate,

Kaoru Mitsumi-sama- (laughs evilly) We found about 15 or so yaoi InuYasha pictures people had drawn (like SesshyxInu, RokuxInu, that kinda stuff) printed them out, and miko ran out and taped them all over his car before he got off work. He was so pissed! It was sooooo funny though, we kept dropping hints that it wasn't some random person that did it. Finally he had to be told. It was hilarious!

Foxshadow: I feel so special! So you liked camp, huh? I have no idea where all those lines I wrote came from. Seriously, I go back and have to read what I wrote… I guess they just come out of nowhere. The twist on Shippo came form the fact that InuYasha needed a cool birthday present and the fact that I'd forgotten putting Shippo in at all. So Shippo turns into stuff and there's lots of fics where InuYasha gets turned into a dog, so why doesn't Shippo get stuck in one of his fox transformation things? Thus, Shippo the dog was born. (hope that made sense)

Firefairy- Happy now? Somebody got what was coming for them! I play guitar so I know more about guitars to write into the story. Bass is great though!

Kavfh- Why'd you get kicked off? And the no lemon thing… that's something I have on the back burner. If I ever get bored and need something to write I'll do one for this story but I'll post it on so I don't get the boot. I've worked too hard for my reviews!

Starblade5- Thanks for mentioning that. Copying and pasting the chapters over to word gets messy sometimes. I don't know how I missed that. Yup, she really talks like that. Scary, huh? And Happy Birthday! (I'd sing but I suck at it)

Animedemon21- Morning hyperness? (is scared) I hate mornings…

mental-out-patient- It was the first guess out of the two! Here, have some pocky!

Wolf-Dog-Demoness- I'm surprised you didn't notice a little foreshadowing. I mentioned several times that 'the press sucked and being in the tabloids was no fun'. I've read my mom's tabloids and the pictures are never as good as they make them out to be. Couldn't help but play on that. And you don't sound like a freak, you're more normal than me!

VikiLei- Sorry, my computer hates all forms of chat unless it's yahoo messenger. I know, you're usually the first.

Taurenta- I'm awesome? (looks awkward) Thanks, I didn't know this was so good.

Sassie- Every now and then I'll get very stuck and won't know what to do. If that happens I'll be sure to email you! I love getting reader input on what to do next.

hikari-nimeluvrs- I try to pick good ending points, thanks! Aoshi Mimiru Pyro- Tis a secret of the press. How do they get all those pics of celebs? Nobody knows… Jonathold- I love reading your reviews! It took me three reads to figure out what you meant in the sentence about Naraku and Kagome. I'm slow most of the time though. I think WWII is the most interesting war to read about since so much major stuff happened then. Kiss is coming to cincy, I think. I've never met someone that likes Kiss as much as you! What the hell is farmer jacks? I know Kroger carries it and so does media play. Never heard of farmer jacks. My computer refuses to run AIM, maybe it's because I don't use AOL. It wont run AOL either. Yes, my email is in my profile. It's at yahoo and is the same as my pen name. Everything I have to use a screen name for I'm hanyoualanna, so I never forget and people can keep track of me. (not that they'd WANT to do that. I doubt I'm that interesting) B.rouge- You hate mosh pits? I love the pit because you get way closer to the stage. People need to learn that soap is good. Say it with me, SOAP and WATER. 

kyuuka-kitsune- Did you get the gift? I emailed it to you…

SesshysKitty- Argh! I tried to email you but it wouldn't work! It said your email doesn't exist. Anyways, mind if I ask some questions about Japan (Tokyo in specific) since I'm going there next year I think. Yuki-Sama16- What was the twist? Tell me, tell me, tell me! Goth Musician- That's kind of what happened here and little bit what happens in the sequel, only different. 

Krista Rawks- Kagome might sing something in the sequel, but she's going to sing a little in this new fic I'm writing. It's a non AU by the way.

BlackCat92- I have a book in Japanese all about the first movie and I know all about the second movie, despite never having seen it. I think you'll like my latest project, it's a non AU.

Sesshoumarugrl- So many Kikyo haters out there…I'm with you guys though!

Silentslayer- You guessed right! Have some pocky! 

That's all for now guys! Here's my last quote of the day for a while… 

"I'm gonna fucking kill that mother-fucker!" -A friend of mine who's having trouble killing Seymour in FFX (he's lost 13 times). He said a lot more that's unsuitable for ye ears… 

I love you all for reviewing and can't wait until I get back to posting again!

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Okay, I can't resist! Snippet from the sequel to get you all going! 

_Blood....there was so much blood...._

InuYasha gasped and sat up, startling Kagome out of her sleep. His heart was racing and his palms were sweating as he panted.

"What's wrong?" She murmered, still half asleep.

"N-nothing..." InuYasha stuttered and lay back down. "Go back to sleep. Sesshomaru wants to hear our new material tomorrow."

"Mmkay..." Kagome managed say before falling back asleep. InuYasha wrapped his arms around her once more and lay there in the dark, knowing he'd never achieve any type of peaceful unconciouness now.

'Fuck...they're back...' the words resonated in his head as he sighed. It'd be a long night.

Ohh, what could be going on? Find out soon in Trouble in the Tamas! See you next time! (couldn't resist doing a Kagome style preview…)


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